Skip to content Skip to navigation

Yoga and Relaxation

What is yogic relaxation? This question used to come in our mind often. Everyone wants to be relaxed. But, How? Yoga tells about various process of relaxations practised by different schools of relaxation. Here, I am not going to explain about various process or techniques of yogic relaxation. But, going to explain the inner meaning of term "relaxation" in yoga. I have seen many confusion regarding the term "relaxation" by many people. The process and techniques of yogic relaxations may be many more but the inner meaning of "relaxation" is one and same.

The term "relaxation" in English is the equivalent term of Sanskrit term "Sithalikaran". The basic meaning of this term "relaxation" is detoxification of the body. Yoga gives importance on detoxification. As, we know yoga deals with physical, mental and spiritual health together. To deal with all these health first one practitioner needs to start with the physical health. It is known to everyone that in our body in every moment toxic is generated. Simultaneously, toxic is released by our body in every moment specially by exhalation of our breath. Toxic are released from our body through different forms like as breath, urine, stool, saliva, mucus, sweat, etc. But, some times it is not enough for detoxification of our body. When, this detoxification is below the marginal detoxification level then various kind both physical and mental disorders or diseases are seen in human body according to yoga. So, detoxification which is widely popular as relaxation among the masses is a very important subject in yoga. I have already mentioned that different yoga schools adopts different mathodologies to deal with relaxation.

In yoga this education of detoxification is imparted along with other practices. I have already mentioned that this process starts with the physical body. If a person's physical body is suffering he can not deal with his mental body. Here, we take an example of one yogic school of practice introduced by Sage Patanjali. This school is also popular as "Astanga Yoga" school. Here, Sage Patanjali devides yoga in eight parts or limbs or organs. These, eight organs of yoga are yama, niyama, asana, pranayama, dhyana, dharana, pratyahara and samadhi. Here, first four organs yama, niyama, asana and pranayama more relates to the physical body whereas, the rest four parts deals with the mental body and abstract organs or qualities of human life.

Let us take an example to understand the importance of physical body in yoga. Suppose, a yoga practitioner is sitting for meditation or dhyana. But, the practitioner is suffering from cough. Then, it would be difficult for the practitioner to focus his ming to enter into a meditative state. Therefore, yoga gives importance on the various methods of relaxations propounded by various yoga schools.

Many a people misunderstand the term "relaxation" and as a result they do not avail the total benifit of practising yoga. If in a glass there is poison and without clearing the poison from the glass we pour drinking water in it it becomes poison. If a single drop of poison remains then also it will cause danger. Same way, after detoxification of the body only good things can be cultivated. Therefore, the importance of the term "relaxation" is found in yoga.

Author info

Kuldeep Baishya's picture

Kuldeep Baishya is a lawyer from Assam. Apart from his professional studies and social advocacy he has been occupied with two subjects Mahatma Gandhi and Peace building.

Add new comment

Random Stories

CBI to probe watergate!

22 Jul 2015 - 1:35pm | AT News
Dispur is firm on handing over the water gate probe to CBI. Sources told Assam Times that chief minister Tarun Gogoi has received some stunning inputs suggesting the multi crore scam in GMDA in 2001...

Deal with encephalitis: Gogoi

31 Jul 2014 - 7:35am | AT News
 Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi has directed the health department to take all possible measures to check the spread of Acute Encephalitis Syndrome and Japanese Encephalitis. Gogoi met health...

Environmental NGO Forum formed

21 Nov 2012 - 12:12am | Jayanta Kumar Das
In order to strengthen the environmental movement in Assam, 25 Assam based environmental NGOs met over a day-long programme at Lakshmiram Barua Sadan on October 20 and decided to form an...

Govt. grants distributed in Udalguri

22 Dec 2010 - 1:54pm | Jayanta Kumar Das
A grant-in-aid distributed ceremonially was held on December 21 amongst the beneficiaries of Udalguri District under various schemes specially Chief Minister’s Asom Vikash Yojana, CM’s...

Other Contents by Author

Today is 27 January- the International Holocaust Memorial Day. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 60/7 of the 42nd plenary meeting held on 1st November 2005 designates 27 January as an annual International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust. It also reaffirms that the Holocaust, which resulted in murder of the one third of the Jewish people, along with countless members of other minorities, will forever be a warning to all people of the dangers of hatred, bigotry, racism, and prejudice. And as a result, the Holocaust and United Nations Outreach Programme was established in 2005 with a simple and stark aim to mobilize civil society for Holocaust...
Guwahati: On the first day of New Year 2021 the MP of Guwahati Parliamentary Constituency Smt Queen Ozha along with Managing Director, APDCL Shri Rakesh Kr. Agarwal, IAS inaugurated the Digital Literacy Lab at Jnandeep Academy situated at Bamunimodam, Guwahati. “Jnandeep Academy”, a local community school which is imparting education up to class-X giving importance on digital literacy initiated this project for the development of students. The principlal of the school Shri Hemanta Kr. Goswami welcoming all the dignitaries expressing gratitude to both the Guests for their helping hands in the inaugural meeting has stated that after COVID-19 in school education digital literacy become the...
India’s North East is the geopolitical part covered by China, Bhutan, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. The insurgency has a long-rooted historical background of this specific region of India. This region has a rich cultural population with diversified portrait mostly directly rooted in the wild form of mother nature. As such, those who are not rooted in the atmosphere of the region for them it is more difficult to understand. Culture when directly rooted in a virgin form of nature then automatically an act of preservation and conservation comes. Whenever some idea comes which cannot be perceived by the human mind easily due to cultural upbringing then automatically conflicts come to the mind...
Day 2 Practice: Hello Divine beings. Hope all of you are well. Stay at home and Save Lives. Remember 'ISOLATION is Medicine' now. I hope those who started doing practice of chanting 'AUM' they are gradually able to transform this self quarantine to graceful spiritual retreat. Well, as I said we will discuss our per day practice in my earlier write up so here this is Day 2 practice. Which you  will add to your earlier one. Thanks to all those well-wishers and practitioners who gave replies on practicing 'AUM' meditation. From your feed back I feel chanting 'AUM'  is enough to boost up our spiritual, mental immunity which will be reflected in development of our physical...
DAY 1 PRACTICE: Hello Divine Beings, Namaskar. Here, in this emergency I am going to share with you something spiritual. In this period entire humanity is passing through a difficult situation and in this moment self-quarantine is the major and primary step to help own self and help entire humanity. Well, as it is a sudden threat, so it is usual to be worried and panic to some extent. But we should not forget that we human beings many a time faced many challenges like this, and we successfully overcome those situations. Here, in India also National Lock Down was declared by the Union Government for 21 days from 25.03.2020 to 15.04.2020 for safety and security of the people. It is the...
Every death takes a new life.. You can see as a death.. I can see as a life.. Your victory is your failure.. I find thy celebration of life… But that life is your death… He wrote the destruction of your life… But your life starts with your death… I witnessing life and not your death or life…
When Government of India is celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, I am experiencing a different thrill to express myself as proud descendant of this great country called Bharat. For last seven years I have been occupied with a subject apart from my profession. This subject is though not new for me but it becomes gradually new for me in everyday affairs. Subject is "Yoga" which gradually becomes "Yoga Darshana". Actually, today I am not going to narrate my story. But, here it's about Bapu, the Father of Nation and his great life on experiencing Non-Violance. Today, as a student of Yoga Darshana when I look back to the life of Gandhi I find Maharshi Patanjali's first...