Maximizing Relaxation

Lesson 16

I cannot stress how important relaxation is for creativity and innovation. The more relaxed you are, the more creative and innovative you will be. Relaxation is absolutely key. When you are stressed out (the opposite of relaxed), the body and mind become focused on surviving and scanning for potential threats. The sympathetic nervous system is activated — your fight-or-flight response. Your energy constricts and you are defensive — ready for attack. This is how the body works. It doesn’t matter if it is a tiger or a bill. Your body will react a similar way. However, it is often even worse with the latter because the stress is typically always there. It never goes away like the tiger, leaving a person in a constant state of defense. There is no obvious single knockout blow, but rather it subtly becomes death by a thousand paper cuts.

After all that, you may think that the fight-or-flight response is bad. No — it becomes bad when it is activated all the time. Again, look what we have here — another case of object and relationship. The object in this case is the fight-or-flight response. It is not bad, however many of us can have a bad relationship with it. We definitely want to have a fight-or-flight response in case there is an actual threat, however we want to live in the rest-and-digest response. We want the parasympathetic nervous system activated most of the time.

I did not design the human body, but I am doing my best to understand how it works. From years of study and direct experience, I have concluded that it is optimal to live in the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-and-digest), then go to the sympathetic nervous system (fight-or-flight) whenever we have to. Unfortunately, this is often easier said than done.

What can we do to make this shift? What can we do to relax more? Do not underestimate the power of deep breathing. It can change your life. The slower and deeper you breathe, the more relaxed you will be — period. How you look at reality matters too, as well as how you position your body. Did you know that certain body positions trigger the fight-or-flight response? For example, collapsing the front body and rounding the shoulders in activates fight-or-flight. Find a comfortable position that enhances relaxation. Make your workspace more peaceful. Little things add up. I like to make sure everything smells really nice, often using eucalyptus essential oil. Certain smells can help with relaxation, or focus. I like to keep everything clean and organized. I have symbols of relaxation around me — like mantras, yoga mats, and candles. You can also purify the energy of your workspace, and I’m not talking about sage if you were expecting that. I am talking about a trick I learned in the yoga industry.

After a decade, I’ve taught well over 10,000 classes. With enough iterations, you notice patterns. As yoga teachers, we are often trained to tell people to “leave all their stresses and worries at the door”. We tell people that “just for the next hour, allow yourself to relax and don’t worry about anything”. The pattern I noticed is nothing short of remarkable. Nearly everyone did it. You could see stressed-out moms running into yoga class, and right after they walk in the door and hear this, it is like a wave of peace is washed over them. It is like their own intention created a forcefield against intrusive thoughts and worries. Although it was after my suggestion, it is more important to note that they did it themselves because I often had no idea what exactly people were stressed about. It was an internal job. The magic didn’t come from me, but rather it came from them.

You can decide to do this anytime, anywhere — without anyone’s permission or help. You are that powerful. What I am getting at is you can do it for your workspace. You can tell yourself that you no longer allow stress and worry to infect your sacred workspace. It will take some time, but you may find that soon those negative thoughts aren’t there anymore. It is like there is an invisible barrier blocking the negativity. Life can be magical sometimes, and you can be too.