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3. Proper relaxation (Savasana)

Recharge your batteries through proper relaxation

Proper relaxation is an excellent cooling system, comparable to that of an automobile. It’s the most natural way of re-energising the body. Relaxation is so important because the body and mind cannot perform well under constant stress.
To control and balance body and mind, one has to use the body’s energy efficiently. This is the main motivation for learning how to relax.

Relaxation doesn’t come easy...

In our modern world, many people find it difficult to relax or to conserve their energy while working. By keeping our muscles in a constant state of readiness, we expend a lot more energy than we would if we used only those muscles needed for the job at hand. Unnecessary physical and mental tension uses up great amounts of energy, even in periods of rest, and wastes a huge amount of our vital energy. Have you ever returned from your holiday feeling exhausted? It can happen, despite the fact that our body produces a surplus of energy each day, enough to last us for the next day. The problem is that negative emotions like anger or irritability can deplete these energy stores in just a few minutes.

Perfect relaxation with yoga

The yoga practice replenishes the energy stores of the body. That’s why you never feel drained after a yoga class. Instead, you feel charged up with positive energy. At the end of the yoga class is ‘deep relaxation’. In this state, only a very small amount of life energy (prana) is used, just enough to maintain vital metabolic activities. The rest of the energy is stored. This deep relaxation includes three levels: physical, mental and spiritual relaxation. Complete or perfect relaxation is possible only when all three levels are involved. So a few minutes of yoga relaxation can recharge us more effectively – and give us much more inner peace – than several hours of restless sleep.

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