61 Points Relaxation Technique

The 61 Points Relaxation Technique (and 31 points) -Shavayatra

I have created a meditation for you around the 61 points of your body and a shorter version with 31 points that you can find back in this weeks material. You can learn those points yourself to be able to guide yourself in this mediation.
In this exercise, you travel mentally throughout the body while reclining in the corpse posture.
The traditional name for the 61-points exercise is Shavayatra, “traveling through the corpse.”

Benefits

1.Release of muscular tension

The first and most noticeable benefit of 61-points is a deep and complete release of muscular tension. This exercise affects the physical body by working deeply on the energy field and the nervous system.
Systematic relaxation often has the  focus on relaxing the muscle groups, but 61-points focuses on vital, nerve-rich energy points in the body, helping to balance the subtle energies and increasing mental harmony in the process

2. Trains the mind to be one-pointed

This practice trains the mind to be one-pointed which helps you to be able to enter deep meditations. As you direct your attention in a systematic and orderly fashion for a definite period of time, you increase your ability to concentrate your mind.

3. Internalization

The third benefit from practicing this exercise is that it begins to shift the direction of your attention inward. Practicing 61-points is a means of redirecting the flow of the mind from the outward channel of the senses to the subtle inner levels of our mind-body connection and the vital energy that sustains us. This inward orientation increases self-awareness by heightening sensitivity to our internal states.

This practice you can use in the first stage of Yoga Nidra: Internalization or as a tools to do the rotation of consciousness.

Do it yourself:

You can find this overview with the points as well in your workbook

Step 1 – Memorize The 61 Points

If you want to do it by yourself , you first need to make a mental picture of the 61 points. Once you begin, your goal is to stay completely focused on the systematic process of relaxing your mind and body.
The relaxation points start at the forehead, travel down and up your right arm, then down and up your left arm. Then they travel down your torso, down and up your right leg, and down and up your left leg. Finally, they go up your torso to your forehead.
As you study the diagram above, identify each point on your own body, remembering it’s a mirror image (eg, point 5 occurs on your right hand). If you struggle to remember them all, try drawing it on paper to help cement the locations.

Step 2 – Focus Your Attention on Each Point

To begin the 61-point relaxation technique, lie down in corpse pose (savasana). (This is flat on your back with your palms facing up and your feet at shoulder-width apart)
You can do this on the bed, a yoga mat or on the floor, with a pillow under your head. Cover yourself with a light blanket because as you relax, your body temperature will drop and you don’t want to be disturbed by feeling too cold.
Next, lying completely still, focus your attention between your eyebrows and visualize point one. Center your whole awareness at this point. Imagine a sense of warmth and heaviness at this spot before moving on to the next point.

Step 3 – Move Through Each Point in Sequence

In the same way, direct your awareness at each point up to point 31 (on the torso, having fully relaxed both arms). Work slowly, allowing your mind to completely train itself to each point individually, and imagining the sense of warmth and heaviness before proceeding to the next one.
After a while, you may find that your mind starts to wander. Random thoughts and mind chatter may try to takeover proceedings, and your job is to clear them away as swiftly as possible, without engaging with any of them. If you lose your place, go back to the last numbered point – or if you really go off on a tangent, start over again. This is no time for daydreaming! This is about focused awareness and conscious relaxation.

Step 4 – Extend Your Practice to All 61 Points

Once you can move through the first 31 points in sequence, extend your practice to cover all 61 points in the technique. Your goal is to cover them all without losing focus. By the time you achieve that, you will feel deeply relaxed, both in your mind and body, and you will have lost awareness of the world beyond your body.
Indeed, you will be highly focused internally and you may even find that hypnagogia and dream scenes start to emerge, especially if you practice the technique when you wake up in the night or early morning.

THE POINTS

• 1— Point between the eyebrows
• 2—Hollow of the throat
• 3—Right shoulder joint
• 4—Right elbow joint
• 5—Middle of the right wrist
• 6—Tip of the right thumb
• 7—Tip of the index finger
• 8—Tip of the middle finger
  9—Tip of the fourth finger (ring finger)
• 10—Tip of the small finger
• 11—Right wrist joint
• 12—Right elbow joint
• 13—Right shoulder joint
• 14—Hollow of the throat
• 15-26—Repeat points 3-14 on the left
• 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 (2 inches below the physical navel)

• 34—Right hip joint
• 35—Right knee joint
• 36—Right ankle joint
• 37—Right big toe
• 38—Tip of the second toe
• 39—Tip of the third toe
• 40—Tip of the fourth toe
• 41—Tip of the small toe
• 42—Right ankle joint
• 43—Right knee joint
• 44—Right hip joint
• 45—Navel center (2 inches below physical navel)
• 46-56—Repeat points 34-45 on the left side
• 57—Navel center (2 inches below the physical navel)
• 58—Solar plexus
• 59—Heart center
• 60—Hollow of the throat
• 61—Center between the eyebrows

How to get it into your system some tips:

One way of developing mental endurance is to practice 31-points twice in succession every day; in other words, do the practice once and then repeat it immediately. Stick with this routine for two weeks or more before moving on to the 61-points exercise. Resist the tendency to rush into the complete practice. This preliminary work with 31 points is important; you will know you are ready to move on when you can travel through every point with full attention, day after day.

Because you must be alert throughout the exercise, select a time when you are not tired; avoid practicing before you go to bed at night if you feel too drowsy. A good time is early in the morning, after your asana practice, and before meditation.

Practicing after yoga will bring the body to its optimum condition of balance, alertness, and relaxation and will prepare you to take full advantage of this powerful practice. Some people prefer to practice just before lunch or in the late afternoon.

Experiment and discover what works best for you.