ST Teachers: Lying Relaxation in Classes

[Nathan]

I didn't see any topics on this, so here I go!

I am curious how many of the ST teachers out there implement lying relaxation sessions in their ST classes. For those who do, how do you go about this? Do you use Kit's recordings? Or do you guide the sessions yourself?

I am particularly interested in responses from those teaching in languages other than English. (@MarkusO? Anyone else?) Do you guide in the foreign language using a translation/mimicking Kit's script? Or do you freestyle it?

A larger question for @Kit_L is: Is there a reason we should or should not guide lying relaxation sessions not using a script? Part of me says that if the participants relax, then they are benefiting and that is what matters. Another part of me wonders if there should be some kind of qualification (to be able to move away from the scripts) - a consistent personal practice spanning months/years and/or a solid understanding of the different techniques you use in your sessions, for example. Also, how about an "Implementing DWB" track in future teacher trainings? 

Thanks all!

[MarkusO]

6 hours ago, Nathan said:

I am particularly interested in responses from those teaching in languages other than English. (@MarkusO? Anyone else?) Do you guide in the foreign language using a translation/mimicking Kit's script? Or do you freestyle it?

Hallo :-) I haven't done it myself yet but I am planning to. I will not freestyle it, especially in the beginning. I will use the script from ONBP as a general guideline and go from there. More importantly I have to work on a calm voice!

[Nathan]

1 hour ago, MarkusO said:

Hallo :-) I haven't done it myself yet but I am planning to. I will not freestyle it, especially in the beginning. I will use the script from ONBP as a general guideline and go from there. More importantly I have to work on a calm voice!

Thanks for the response! I am sure I will work from Kit's scripts as well, but I was curious what others are doing. And yes, calm voice, with the occasional stern "do not sleep" 

Would love to hear how it goes once you begin!

[jaja]

Not a teacher, but I did a couple of session for my father, a couple of years back. I went “freestyle“, using more or less the same cues Kit uses in the recordings. Worked like a charm.

At the ST workshop Kit planned the lying relaxation at the end of the day, but personally I find yoga nidra quite effective when done prior stretching. My body is already primed to let go.

[Nathan]

4 hours ago, jaja said:

Not a teacher, but I did a couple of session for my father, a couple of years back. I went “freestyle“, using more or less the same cues Kit uses in the recordings. Worked like a charm.

That's good to know! I think the natural progression (for me) will be to shift toward a more freestyle approach after working from the scripts for a while and getting used to the format.

4 hours ago, jaja said:

At the ST workshop Kit planned the lying relaxation at the end of the day, but personally I find yoga nidra quite effective when done prior stretching. My body is already primed to let go.

I think there are pros and cons to both. Doing it before helps prepare the mind/body for letting go and relaxing into stretches, but stretches help prepare the body to be comfortable in the position and really allow for deep relaxation. I suppose ideally you might do both. Perhaps a quick 5-10 minute "reset" to switch into relax mode before, then a good stretch session, and a longer 15-30 minutes lying relaxation following to really experience and enjoy deep relaxation. Then again, it depends on the individual needs too!

[Kit_L]

I did prepare a short presentation on the elements of the lying relaxations; I will find and reprint here. Elements can be mixed and matched. For the students' benefit, the beginning and end of each session is best made the same. This is only to create the habit more quickly; in time, the scripts can be anything you like. Voice tone is a critical aspect.

[Nathan]

14 minutes ago, Kit_L said:

I did prepare a short presentation on the elements of the lying relaxations; I will find and reprint here.

Excellent - would be very grateful! Thank you for the other points, too. I suppose recording myself and using the audios personally would probably be a great way to find a good tone.

[Kit_L]

Elements of the Lying Relaxation practises

Depending on the time you allocate, use three or more of these elements. Be aware that most students lying on a hard-ish floor will feel discomfort after 30 minutes or so. This will be less for older people.

In general, you need to use a calm voice, and have plenty of pauses in your instructions. If you use any movement instructions, these are best placed near the beginning of the practice; in other words, the practice is most relaxing if it starts relatively actively, and progresses to passive awareness elements. Draw the students’ attention to the sensations of the practice, not the concepts or thoughts about the practice. Use no negative instructions. Example: “Make all movements as slow as you can”, rather than “Don’t move quickly”.

 

Standard beginning and end (“the practice begins” and “the practice ends”, or "the practise is over").

 

Create tension

Move the awareness to the R (or L) hand; slowly curl the fingers towards the palm. Move so slowly you can feel the air passing between the fingers. Direct awareness to the heat felt between the fingers and the palm, when close enough. You may feel two fingers touch; you may feel a finger tip touch the palm. Make all movements slow; try to feel all the sensations involved. Make a light fist. Pause. Now slowly tighten the hand, feeling all the extra muscles in the forearm needed to do this; now squeeze as hard as you can; take in a breath, and let the tension go as you breathe out. Become aware that ‘relaxing’ is the same as ‘letting tension go’. Become aware that relaxing is ‘not doing’. Relaxation is letting go of any intentions.

 

Meeting points

Feel the meeting points between the body and the floor. Standard to begin with the R heel, and then L heel, then up the body to the face and neck.

 

If this element is used early in the practice (perhaps instead of the ‘create tension’ element), then possible to ask this kind of question of each part: “Does the R heel feel completely comfortable? If you are not sure, try drawing the toes of the R foot towards the knee; feel the muscles of the back of the leg lengthen. Try rolling the leg in and out and when as comfortable as can be, let the awareness rest in the R heel”. Now feel what the R heel feels like.

 

Make any movements as slow as possible, and as small as possible. This aspect too can be mentioned before the practice begins, and mentioned again as you watch the students.

 

Feel the spine lengthening onto the floor

“As you relax, you will find the spine lengthening onto the floor. As the body and mind relax, more of the spine rests on the floor. To help this, you might need to tuck your tail a little tail, or you might need to move the chin to the chest.”

 

Pausing the breath

Begin any breath-focused element with simply directing the students’ attention to “all the movements in the body we call ‘breathing’; for the next five breaths, feel all the sensations in the body we call breathing”.

 

When you come back to the breath (after one of the other elements), suggest, “for the next three breaths, breathe in, and when the breath is in, pause for a count of ‘one, two’ and let the breath out. A simple pause with the breath out for a count of ‘one, two’. Do not try too hard; make no effort; this is just an experience”.

 

If you come back to the breath again, pause with the breath out for a count of ‘one, two’.

 

In longer practises, you can combine the two: ‘for the next five breaths, pause with the breath in for a count of “one, two”, then pause with the breath out for a count of “one, two”. Repeat the instructions, then pause to let the experience occur. Watch what the student do with the instructions—by this, I mean leave enough time for them all to do what you have suggested. 

 

If you come back to the breath again, say, “for the next five breaths, do nothing at all; simply feel the sensations of the breath coming in and going out of the body".

 

Awareness of the breath

Or, you may say, ‘Hold your awareness at the nostrils. Become aware of the breath going in the nostrils, down the back of the throat, and feel the tummy rise. The feel the breath go out: the tummy sinks, you feel the air move up the back of the threat, and leave via the nostrils. Pause. Then ask, ‘is the air different somehow with the breath going in compared to the breath going out? How is it different? Consider this in terms of ‘hot, cold, wet, dry’. Spend a few minutes feeling the difference between the air coming into the body and the air going out of the body.'

 

Name parts of the body

Here, direct students to either feeling the part mentioned, or having a quick vision of the part—this can be discussed before the practice if preferred.

 

It's traditional to begin with the R thumb. In this element, in contrast to the ‘meeting points’, name all parts of the R arm, then chest and abdomen, then R leg, ending with “R little toe” before going over to the L side, where you again begin with the thumb.

 

Create sensations in the body

“Everyone has had the experience of being cold. That experience is in the body; bring it out. Experience the sensation of being cold.”

 

“Everyone has had the experience of being hot. That experience is in the body; bring it out. Experience the sensation of being hot.”

 

Any familiar sensation or experience can be used this way.

 

Awareness of sounds around you

“Let the awareness move out of the body. Let the awareness touch the many sounds around us. Simply let the awareness touch a sound, then let the awareness move gently to the next sound. Become aware that as a sound ends, there is no trace of it in the body. Feel how a sound is experienced by the body; and as the sound stops, there is no trace left in the body. Don’t try hard; this is just an experience.”

 

Deep relaxation

This element is used after a long pause, and usually towards the end of the practice. “This is the state of deep relaxation. Feel all the sensations in the body we feel as ‘deep relaxation’. Become aware of how being deeply relaxed feels. The floor is supporting you, fully, safely, comfortably. More of your body is resting on the floor. Remind yourself to relax a little in daily life, each time you breathe out. Become aware that being relaxed feels good.

 

Please add any I have missed; this was an exam question at the recent Part B Teacher Training, in London.

 

[Nathan]

Thank you. This is gold.

5 hours ago, Kit_L said:

Name parts of the body

This is one of my favorites. I feel I can reach that sense of deep relaxation quickest and most reliably with this.

5 hours ago, Kit_L said:

Create sensations in the body

I also very much enjoyed the Govinda recording that used this. I believe it asked to find the areas of the body experiencing the sensations, rather than to create/bring them out. (Perhaps not so different!)

5 hours ago, Kit_L said:

Please add any I have missed

Off the top of my head, I only noticed counting the breaths and starting over when the mind wanders. I will come back if I think of any others.

[Cherie Seeto]

Another tip for deepening the tone of my voice is to use a Neti Pot, daily, to flush out my sinus cavities. As a female, I can make my voice a lot more soothing with a clear head. It feels like the sound can resonate in my cranial cavities. Please let me know if anyone else has experienced this. 

If my class has a rambunctious energy, I’ll do a five minute relaxation at the beginning to bring focus and internal awareness to the fore. I also use activities like rubbing circles with the thumb to each finger tip, and vice versa. Notice the quality of the skin, hot/cold, moist/dry, rough/smooth etcetera. Getting the little finger to draw the circle on a stationary thumb is tricky! I got Dave Wardman to do it once and he said “That’s a mind fuck Cher!”

Olivia’s directed breathing, lying supine with hands on chest and tummy, is another nice way to get people to relax and become aware of their breathing and body sensations. 

Thanks for this thread guys!

[Nathan]

1 hour ago, Cherie Seeto said:

Another tip for deepening the tone of my voice is to use a Neti Pot, daily, to flush out my sinus cavities. As a female, I can make my voice a lot more soothing with a clear head. It feels like the sound can resonate in my cranial cavities. Please let me know if anyone else has experienced this. 

I'm sure it's the same for males too! It makes sense that having clear sinuses would make your voice more resonant, depending on how you project. I suppose things like posture, etc. could also have a significant effect. I guess it's time to give that Neti pot a go 

1 hour ago, Cherie Seeto said:

If my class has a rambunctious energy, I’ll do a five minute relaxation at the beginning to bring focus and internal awareness to the fore. I also use activities like rubbing circles with the thumb to each finger tip, and vice versa. Notice the quality of the skin, hot/cold, moist/dry, rough/smooth etcetera. Getting the little finger to draw the circle on a stationary thumb is tricky! I got Dave Wardman to do it once and he said “That’s a mind fuck Cher!”

Yes, I liked your suggestion of starting class with a quick relaxation. I like the thumb idea too. That's high praise, coming from Dave 

1 hour ago, Cherie Seeto said:

Olivia’s directed breathing, lying supine with hands on chest and tummy, is another nice way to get people to relax and become aware of their breathing and body sensations. 

Thanks for this thread guys!

Agreed! And thank you for sharing!

[jaja]

4 hours ago, Nathan said:

I'm sure it's the same for males too! It makes sense that having clear sinuses would make your voice more resonant, depending on how you project. I suppose things like posture, etc. could also have a significant effect. I guess it's time to give that Neti pot a go 

I'm sure you're way suppler than me, so maybe it's not necessary, but I've found a diaphragm release has an impact on my voice tone. Same if I can get a lot of tension out the HF. Muscular tension squeezes the voice.

[Nathan]

2 hours ago, jaja said:

I'm sure you're way suppler than me, so maybe it's not necessary, but I've found a diaphragm release has an impact on my voice tone. Same if I can get a lot of tension out the HF. Muscular tension squeezes the voice.

Yes, good point! I hold a ton of tension in my abs/diaphragm. Kit once did the diaphragm release on me and my life flashed before my eyes  I should really work on that, because I know it will take time to really let go of that tension. HF are doing pretty well, though, thankfully  

By the way, since you're (at least) bilingual you will probably know this, but the way we present ourselves (including out voices) is largely affected by the language we speak. My voice tends to be higher when I speak Japanese. Have you noticed a difference between your English voice and your Italian voice?

[jaja]

I haven't actually paid much attention to the way my voice sound, but I think I might be a little bit louder when I speaking Italian. The funny thing is I'm more outgoing when speaking English.

[Cherie Seeto]

I got my BIG voice learning to be a Futures Commodities Trader. Getting whacked in the back to prompt me to shout was a baptism of fire in voice projection. You can’t trade if no one can hear you in the trading  pit. 

The diaphragm definitely benefits from releasing the HF. 

The tones you use to soothe a baby are also wonderful for relaxation scripts. Do you agree Nathan?

[Nathan]

12 hours ago, Cherie Seeto said:

The tones you use to soothe a baby are also wonderful for relaxation scripts. Do you agree Nathan?

I don't know - I only scream at Kenji  Kidding, of course. I hadn't really thought about it, but I am sure you're right!

[Jim Pickles]

Thank you Kit for posting such a detailed commentary.

I started teaching before there were many scripts available through ST: I found some basics on the web and have adapted them over time. The final relaxation of the class has 5 phases: 1. Body position, alignment, feel the floor, focus on breath etc (same wording each time, for ritual reasons). 2. Progressive relaxation (I use 4 different scripts, and cycle between them). 3. Deepening the relaxation by guided visualisation (not sure how these work for non-visual people though). I have 12 basic scripts* which I cycle between (originally found on the web and in books, plus a few I have devised myself), and adjust each one on the fly depending on how I am feeling. 4. Affirmations, in some classes. 5. Final phase of continued relaxation, followed by gradual bringing out of deep relaxation (same each time, again for ritual reasons), and a clear signal that the session is over.

(* which are gradually replaced over time.)

to some extent these are the techniques used in hypnosis, though I do not use the progressive levels of deepening that hypnotists use. This also avoids the problem that people might drive home still under hypnosis.
I am not sure from earlier comments about how much guidance is given in breathing. One thing my yoga teacher (Ailsa Gartenstein) was very emphatic on, was not to give too much guidance of the exact timings - people prefer establish their own rhythm to your general instructions.

Jim.

[jaja]

Just found an interesting video on YouTube about lowering the pitch of your voice. All this guy did was stretching the neck and learn how to breath deeply (plus some practice, of course). The difference is amazing, considering that this guy used to be a girl and in this video he isn't on Testosterone.

 

I'm very interested in the topic because when I'm able to free my breathing process from excessive tension, my pitch lowers substantially. I hope you'll find this interesting as well.

[Nathan]

On 12/5/2018 at 7:11 AM, jaja said:

I'm very interested in the topic because when I'm able to free my breathing process from excessive tension, my pitch lowers substantially. I hope you'll find this interesting as well.

Thanks for sharing. It's a funny coincidence, because lately I always do some vocal projection after my neck stretching just to see how my voice has been affected. Honestly, it's less of a difference than I thought it might be considering how tight the front of my neck is. Now, if I could manage to release/relax my diaphragm then things might be different 

[Aiya]

You started this thread with the question "Do people use this in their classes?" I've just started teaching, but am considering it. I'm also a yoga teacher and have used Yoga Nidra scripts at the end of yoga classes. When a 120-minute class attendee said "the only thing that would have made this better would have been 15 minutes of savasana at the end," I thought it might be valuable to add this in as part of the format for a long class!

[Nathan]

2 hours ago, Aiya said:

I've just started teaching, but am considering it. I'm also a yoga teacher and have used Yoga Nidra scripts at the end of yoga classes. When a 120-minute class attendee said "the only thing that would have made this better would have been 15 minutes of savasana at the end," I thought it might be valuable to add this in as part of the format for a long class!

Thank you for sharing! Yes, the lying relaxation scripts are quite similar to yoga nidra. I like to think of lying relaxation in ST as "meditation in disguise"  Meditation has become much trendier now, but there are still plenty of people who feel aversion toward it. No one has any issues with relaxing, though  The time balance is my biggest concern, though. With a 120-minute class, I would definitely work it in, but with shorter classes I can see how a 15-minute relaxation might seem proportionately too long.

[Kit_L]

"Yoga Nidra" is a name (came from the Satyananda School of Yoga in Australia, headquarters Bihar School of Yoga) that Satyananda Saraswati brought to the West in 1953; he translated this Sanskrit term as "Psychic Sleep". He considered YN as his school's most important practise, and it is claimed that the current lineage holder (Niranjanananda Saraswati) learned the deepest aspects of his lineage directly from Satyananda while in this state; a direct 'download', if you like from one to the other.

The Buddha spoke of the 'four postures of meditation' (in the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta): walking, moving, sitting, and lying. Lying relaxation in the ST system is a honest blend of both Yoga Nidra (which I learned directly from a lineage holder from that school), and all the work I have done in Samatha (the other 'wing' of the "bird of meditation"), under the tutelage of a Tibetan master), where I specialised in lying meditation. For westerners, I concur with Satyananda-ji: it is the practise we need the most. When I was on retreat in Taos, NM, I did this practise combined with breath counting five to six hours a day, for almost six months. 

A lying relaxation practise can be taught effectively in ten minutes, once you know the elements, and can put yourself in the deeply relaxed state yourself, as you are teaching. Your own state is communicated directly to the students—this means you must continue regular practise yourself as a teacher.

 

[Nathan]

1 hour ago, Kit_L said:

Lying relaxation in the ST system is a honest blend of both Yoga Nidra (which I learned directly from a lineage holder from that school), and all the work I have done in Samatha (the other 'wing' of the "bird of meditation"), under the tutelage of a Tibetan master), where I specialised in lying meditation.

I had no idea about the Tibetan lineage, but that seems to make sense. I've only encountered a focus on similar practices in Vajrayana so far, although my knowledge is very limited. The lying position doesn't seem to get much love in the Theravada or Mahayana schools.

1 hour ago, Kit_L said:

When I was on retreat in Taos, NM, I did this practise combined with breath counting five to six hours a day, for almost six months.

I'd love to do six months of all-day lying meditation! 

[Aiya]

Thank you for the background, Kit! Bringing it down to 10 minutes makes it more reasonable for a 75-90 minute class. It could be subbed out for some of the neck stretching poses I've been doing at the end specifically because they seem to calm nervous systems the most.

Agreed on the six months of meditation and breath work!

[Kit_L]

8 hours ago, Nathan said:

The lying position doesn't seem to get much love in the Theravada or Mahayana schools.

That is true, although there is zero support for this position in the suttas. The reasons are probably historical, and prejudiced, in that in the modern renaissance of meditation that began in Burma over a hundred years ago, sitting meditation is considered "proper" meditation (Burma was where the current Vipassana schools became available for lay people, and not confined to monks, as had previously been the case). It is clear from the sutta I mentioned above that the Buddha favoured none over the others WRT self-realisation. Another reading of his recommendation of the four 'postures' is that they cover all daily life activities, so where might you not practise?

THIS is worth a read; what this author notes re. modern instructions for walking meditation (mentally labelling the action of lifting one foot as 'lifting' etc.) has been my experience on some retreats too, but the root instruction is so much simpler.