s the change that comes in
the process is so great that it is like reversing an engine.
If the little woman whom I mentioned first had practiced relaxing and
quieting exercises every day for years, and had not used the quiet
impression gained by the exercises to help her in dropping mental
resistances, she never would have gained her health.
Concentrating steadily on dropping the tension of the body is very
radically helpful in dropping resistance from the mind, and the right
idea is to do the exercises over and over until the impression of quiet
openness is, by constant repetition, so strong with us that we can
recall it at will whenever we need it. Finally, after repeated tests,
we gain the habit of meeting the difficulties of life without
strain--first in little ways, and then in larger ways.
The most quieting, relaxing, and strengthening of all exercises for the
nerves comes in deep and rhythmic breathing, and in voice exercises in
connection with it. Nervous strain is more evident in a voice than in
any other expressive part of man or woman. It sometimes seems as if all
other relaxing exercises were mainly useful because of opening a way
for us to breathe better. There is a pressure on every part of the body
when we inhale, and a consequent reaction when we exhale, and the more
passive the body is when we take our deep breaths the more freely and
quietly the blood can circulate all the way through it, and, of course,
all nervous and muscular contraction impairs circulation, and all
impaired circulation emphasizes nervous contraction.
To any one who is suffering from "nerves," in a lesser or greater
degree, it could not fail to be of very great help to take half an hour
in the morning, lie flat on the back, with the body as loose and heavy
as it can be made, and then study taking gentle, quiet, and rhythmic
breaths, long and short. Try to have the body so loose and open and
responsive that it will open as you inhale and relax as you exhale,
just as a rubber bag would. Of course, it will take time, but the
refreshing quiet is sure to come if the practice is repeated regularly
for a long enough time, and eventually we would no more miss it than we
would go without our dinner.
We must be careful after each deep, long breath to rest quietly and let
our lungs do as they please. Be careful to begin the breaths delicately
and gently, to inhale with the same gentleness with which we begin, and
to make the change f
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