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Sixty-One-Point Relaxation

This relaxation technique falls under Yoga Nidra.

nidra – sleep

The Sixty-One-Point Relaxation Exercise is a deep systematic relaxation. Use this techique regularly to feel refreshed, rejuvenated and restored. You can do this practice sitting up or lying down. If you are able to do it lying down without falling asleep, it will serve very well as a deep relaxation exercise. Done sitting up it serves more as a kind of calming concentration exercise.

Environment

  • As quiet and still as possible
  • Rip out telephone lines, smash cellphones
  • Chase the kids and spouse away for a bit
  • Ignore the doorbell
  • This is your time. Claim it.

How it Works

  • Use your mental awareness to travel through the sixty-one different points in your body.
  • Keep your attention fixed at point one for several seconds until you feel that your awareness of the location is clear and distinct. Think of yourself being located at this point. Before moving on to the next point, you should feel a sense of warmth and heaviness at this spot. The timing can either be to your breath (ensuring the point is held on an exhale, as your exhale is more relaxing) or to a clock – about 2-5 seconds.
  • Visualise a blue dot at each point and imagine it expanding around the point – healing, relaxing and releasing everything in the vicinity.
  • Do not allow your mind to wander.
  • As you travel through your body, you may encounter marma points that are:
    • Rajasic (energetic): you may feel your body flinch or you get a sudden vivid memory, thought, or emotion.
    • Tamasic (dull): you might become disoriented and fall asleep or you will forget what you are doing, where you are, and what is going on. If you fall asleep during the practice, don’t try to pick up where you left off. Don’t be disappointed when these things happen; falling asleep is cleansing.

Posture

  • Shavasana (corpse pose): lie down on your back with your palms toward the sky, your feet as wide as your shoulders.
  • Put a little pillow under your head to prevent pressure in your oesophagus.
  • Make yourself fully comfortable – cover yourself with a light blanket, visit the bathroom and satiate your thirst. These are little things that can become distracting when they needn’t be, so take care of them beforehand.

The Sixty-One Points

  • Gently start to visualize a blue dot the size of a marble.
  • Use your mind to travel slowly to each point
  • Imagine the blue marble expanding around the point – healing, relaxing and releasing everything in the vicinity.

61-points

  1. Start at the 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 chest
  29. Heart center
  30. Left chest
  31. Heart center
  32. Solar plexus (just below the bottom of the chest 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