Ananda Sangha of Portland--The Anatomy of Tension by Swami Kriyananda

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The Anatomy of Tension
by J. Donald Walters (Swami Kriyananda)
from Ananda Yoga for Higher Awareness

it is impossible to develop true self-awareness without first learning how to relax. Energy that is bound cannot soar to divine heights. The science of yoga might even be defined as a process of progressive relaxation: first, from outer attachments; then from attachment to body, to thoughts, to personality, to ego—until one finds himself at last in the stream of infinite life.

To withdraw one’s mind from worldly attachment is a prerequisite to deeper relaxation. But this is no easy task. The mind functions on many levels of which man is only dimly aware. Even when the mind tries consciously to withdraw from outward distractions, subconscious habit patterns may continue to direct the energy on its customary outward course, tensing the body, putting “knots” in the nerves, imprisoning the energy in the muscles and nerve channels.

Desire for outward activity causes tension. This tension is especially noticeable in the legs and arms. The tendons above the feet, the front part of the calves and thighs, contract automatically with the impulse to be “up and doing.” The arms, the front part of the armpits, the fingers (especially the little fingers and the thumbs and forefingers, where important nerves have their endings)—here, too, tension reflects any inner need to “swing” into action.

The desire for activity originates in the mind, but, like the steady increase of sound that occurs in “feedback” between a loudspeaker and a microphone, tension augments that initial desire. A relaxed body makes it much easier to arrest this steady build-up, to withdraw the energy and thereby to calm the mind. Most of the difficulty people experience in meditation stems from physical tension. When a person is completely relaxed, it is easy to sit still even for hours at a time.

How to relax physically? Paramhansa Yogananda explained the matter more lucidly than any other recent writer. He taught that, for physical relaxation, one must first become conscious of existing tension. To develop this consciousness, first, increase that tension deliberately. Tense the whole body. When fully conscious of this tension, release it completely; become altogether limp and motionless. (Footnote: There are psychological corollaries to this principle. Suffering, for example, must be completely accepted before it can be overcome and forgotten.)

We begin relaxation by stretching and tensing the extremities of the body—those parts, especially, which respond to the impulse for physical activity.

Sasamgasana, the Hare Pose, does this by stretching, then relaxing, the shoulders, arms, and between the shoulder blades... it helps to free the mind of the suggestion, through feedback, that one should be continuously busy doing things.

Because it is refreshing to the brain, Sasamgasana helps to banish mental fatigue. It is a good pose to practice before meditation.