Spirtual development!

Relaxation:- 

Relaxation is helpful for spiritual development because it can help you to maintain a calm and unhurried attitude that will help you live according to the spiritual values you develop through meditation. 

Different relaxation exercises have effects on different systems in the body.Relaxation exercises are provided for relaxing or calming the muscles, respiration, the mind, and emotions. By using these relaxation exercises in combination, all of these mind/body systems can be relaxed or calmed at the same time. This results in faster, deeper relaxation than can be achieved by using only one exercise by itself.

1:-Relaxing the Muscles:- 

1:-Yoga and Stretching:-

Stretching or yoga can be a helpful preliminary to any of the other relaxation exercises. If there are certain parts of your body which you find become especially tense, you may want to pay particular attention to them when stretching. Such areas include the back, calves, shoulders, neck and jaw.

The jaw can, for some people be particularly difficult to relax. It can be helpful in relaxing the jaw to repeat the sequence of 1) clenching the teeth with moderate but not too much pressure while pulling the lips back in a grimace and scrunching up the eyes, 2) then open the jaw as wide as possible (and optionally sticking out the tongue), 3) and then forming the lips into an "o" as if you were blowing out a candle. Repeating this several times will help relax the muscles of the jaw.

2:-Progressive Muscular Relaxation:-

Progressive muscular relaxation can help to relax the muscles of the body. To do this, tense and relax each part of the body, or gently move each part of the body one after another.

3:-Self Hypnotic Induction:-

Self Hypnotic induction can also be used to relax the muscles. Focus your attention on each part of the body in turn from the toes to the top of the head and say to yourself that it is becoming "relaxed and heavy". For example say, "My toes are relaxed and heavy, my feet are relaxed and heavy, my calves are relaxed and heavy..." working your way through all the muscles of the body. As you name each part of the body, take a moment and relax it and observe if it really does begin to feel relaxed and heavy. Use as much detail as you feel is appropriate. For example, you may name all the components of your foot - toes, sole, instep, ankle, heel, Achilles' tendon - or if you prefer you can be less detailed and just name the toes and the feet. You have to find out what works best for you and use that.

4:-Imagine You are Floating:-

Sitting quietly or lying down, with your eyes closed and imagining you are floating can be a very effective way to relax.

Calming Respiration

1:-Rhythmic breathing

Rhythmic breathing can help to slow the heart rate and rate of breathing. For example: for a few minutes, maintain a ratio 2:1:2:1 of inhalation 2 heart beats, hold 1 beat, exhalation 2 beats, hold 1 beat. Use a ratio of 2:1 if that is most comfortable or 4:2 or 6:3 etc. what ever is most comfortable. Other ratios/values are recommended by different schools of thought and can work well too.

If you find your heart rate is high, use a longer count so that you maintain a slow rate of breathing. As the heart rate slows you may find that you need to use a lower count to keep the breath rate from getting too slow. Also, if you are trying to relax after some physical activity and are short of breath, you should use a lower count. You should not strain to slow the rate of breathing when doing this exercise.

Calming the Mind

2:-Concentration Meditation

Concentration meditation will help relax the mind. See the chapter on Meditation for more information on concentration meditation and how to do it.

3:-Visualization

Visualization is excellent for relaxing the mind and for going from a relaxed state to an even deeper state of relaxation. Visualization puts the mind in a "dream like" state.

• One way to use visualization is to visualize a location that you would find relaxing or pleasant, a natural scene, or your dream home, anything that would be calming.
• Another way to use visualization is to visualize each color of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet, and white). You can visualize either the pure colors or an object of each color - fruits or flowers are good objects.

Notice how deeply relaxed you get while visualizing. Notice that dreamy state that is so different from ordinary waking consciousness. You may feel waves of relaxation spreading through yourself as you visualize.

4:-Visualizing a Pleasant Situation:-

Your emotional state can be thought of as a bodily system that can be addressed directly with a specific type of relaxation exercise. One way to do this is to imagine or remember a pleasant situation. This differs from the visualization section above because here you are selecting the situation for the emotional reaction it will induce in you. Try to imagine you are in a place or situation that fills you with good feelings. You might imagine you have something you want. It's okay if it is something materialistic like a lot of money. Or, it could be relaxing in the backyard of your dream house, or having a special relationship with someone you love. Or, it could be a memory of a time you felt good, maybe when you were with a cherished pet, on a wonderful vacation or when you were with someone you love. It could be anything that happened that made you feel good. Whatever would make you feel at peace and content. When you think of a pleasant situation, notice how good you feel. Notice how you are able to replace whatever emotions you were feeling previously with the good feelings that you generate with your memory or imagination.

Combining Relaxation Exercises

Don't just do these techniques mechanically, you must use them consciously, and see to it that they are working and that you are relaxing as you do them.

There are quite a lot of things you can do when you are in a deep state of relaxation.

• A deeply relaxed state is a great time to do self healing or healing of those not present.
• Sending healing to "where it's needed for the highest good" is a practice that leads to spiritual unfoldment.
• You might try using affirmations.
• You can also try asking questions of God, your higher-self, or spirit guides when you are in a deeply relaxed state. After you ask a question, notice the activity of your mind and see if any relevant thoughts or symbolic images arise that pertain to the question. Notice if the thought is the first thing that pops into your mind, if it is a train of associations, or if it is something that you only recognize after you notice you have been lost in thought for a few seconds.
  Relaxation exercises do not just help you to relax at the time you do the exercises. They help you to develop the ability to relax as a skill, as a habit, that you carry with you throughout out the day. Then, over time, when you find yourself experiencing tension due to stress or strong emotional reactions, you will develop the skills and know how to relax and let go of the tension and emotions as they occur throughout the day.