61-point relaxation exercise
Introduction (practice below)
Introduction (practice below)
The Sixty-One-Point Relaxation Exercise is one of the most profound methods of rejuvenation. t is actually much more than a relaxation exercise. It is considered an advanced practice because it means that the student by this time has already learned how to breathe diaphragmatically and has learned how to practice some form of systematic relaxation. An experienced practitioner of systematic relaxation has learned how to lie down and relax the body without falling asleep. Similarly, most advanced practices require you to have the ability to stay awake when doing something more subtle, more inward.
The posture for sixty-one-points is called the corpse pose, or shivasana, in which you lie down on your back with your palms toward the sky and your feet as wide as your shoulders. Put a little pillow under your head, which will prevent pressure in your esophagus. You have a constant air bubble in your stomach, and when you are practicing deep relaxation, the sphincter that closes the junction between the esophagus and the stomach relaxes. If it relaxes, the air bubble in the stomach could come up and put subtle pressure in your esophagus. To keep the esophagus closed, you must raise the head up about an inch or two. Thus, the purpose of the pillow is not for the comfort of your head but rather to raise the head. In the beginning of learning this exercise, this is not a big deal, but later on, as you experience deeper and deeper states of relaxation, you should practice sixty-one-points with a pillow
Also, this is a pranayama exercise, working with the prana, the subtle energy of the body. When lying in the corpse pose, you should have a light blanket covering you, so that other air currents do not affect the current of the mind as it travels through the body. Once again, in the beginning, it is a minor point. When you are learning this exercise, the most important thing is to practice the sixty-one-points. But eventually, as you deepen your relaxation, you should follow all of these recommendations.
Thirdly, protect yourself from noises. Make sure the telephones are off, and do not answer the doorbell. If your spouse is practicing with you, and you have small children, I recommend that one of you keep an eye on the kids while the other one does sixty-one-points and then switch.
Once you have acquired the experience of relaxation, then sixty-one-points really helps deepen that experience. You will be using your mental awareness to travel through sixty-one different points throughout the body. At each point, you will bring your mental awareness there. To make sure both the right (creativity and colors) and left (analytical and numbers) hemispheres of the brain are involved at each point, visualize a blue dot and also the number of that dot. The blue color represents a deep form of relaxation. Of all the colors in the mind, visualizing blue is the most relaxing.
As you travel through your body, you may hit a marma point that is rajasic (energetic). When your mental awareness encounters this, you may have one of several events happen. The most common is the body flinches. Sometimes, when you reach that point, all of the sudden you get a vivid memory, thought, or emotion.
There also may be points that are tamasic points of dullness. Usually in the beginning, all of us encounter a few of those. When we hit a tamasic point with our mental awareness, commonly one of two things happens. One, you might become disoriented and fall asleep. Two, you might experience dullness. You will forget what you are doing, where you are, and what is going on. If you fall asleep during the practice, you are done for that day. Don’t try to pick up where you left off. Don’t be disappointed when these things happen. Falling asleep is cleansing.
The Sixty-One-Point Relaxation Exercise
Use the chart to learn the location of each point before beginning this exercise. Link to image Lie down in the corpse pose as described above and begin your relaxation exercise. Gently bring your awareness to each point and visualize the number at each location along with a blue dot the size of a marble. Travel slowly to each point as you follow them in numerical order.
1- Point between the eyebrows
2- Hollow of the throat
3- Right shoulder joint
4- Right elbow joint
5- The bend of the right wrist
6- Tip of the right thumb
7- Tip of the right index finger
8- Tip of the right middle finger
9- Tip of the right fourth finger (ring finger)
10- Tip of the right small finger
11- The bend of the right wrist joint
12- Right elbow joint
13- Right shoulder joint
14- Hollow of the throat
15- Left shoulder joint
16- Left elbow joint
17- The bend of the left wrist joint
18- Tip of the left thumb
19- Tip of the left index finger
20- Tip of the left middle finger
21- Tip of the left fourth finger (ring finger)
22- Tip of the left small finger
23- The bend of the left wrist joint
24- Left elbow joint
25- Left shoulder joint
26- Hollow of the throat
27- Heart center
28- Right nipple
29- Heart center
30- Left nipple
31- Heart center
32- Solar plexus (just below the
bottom of the breast bone)
33- Navel center (two inches below
the physical navel)
34- Right hip joint
35- Right knee joint
36- Right ankle joint
37- Tip of the right big toe
38- Tip of the right second toe
39- Tip of the right third toe
40- Tip of the right fourth toe
41- Tip of the right small toe
42- Right ankle joint
43- Right knee joint
44- Right hip joint
45- Navel center (two inches below
the physical navel)
46- Left hip joint
47- Left knee joint
48- Left ankle joint
49- Tip of the left big toe
50- Tip of the left second toe
51- Tip of the left third toe
52- Tip of the left fourth toe
53- Tip of the left small toe
54- Left ankle joint
55- Left knee joint
56- Left hip joint
57- Navel center (two inches below the physical navel)
58- Solar plexus
59- Heart center
60- Hollow of the throat
61- Center between the eyebrows
