Conscious Relaxation vs Sleep Part 2

by Nina

Reflections of Trees by Brad Gibson

Oops! When I was doing research for my post on Savasana on Monday, I found some information I’d forgotten about regarding conscious relaxation vs. sleep (see original post here). I wrote the about how Dr. Herbert Bensen said that conscious relaxation differed than sleep for several reasons including:

4. Alpha waves (slow brain waves) increase in intensity and frequency during conscious relaxation, but are not commonly found during sleep. While scientists are not yet sure what these brain waves mean, this is yet another indication that sleep and conscious relaxation are very different states.

Actually science has progressed a bit since the book was published from which I got that information (The Relaxation Response). And what scientists have discovered about the alpha waves is pretty interesting. Dr. Roger Cole, a sleep researcher and long-time yoga teacher, says that during rest or meditation our brain waves may slow to the alpha rhythm (8-12 cycles per second), during which we remain quietly aware of ourselves and our surroundings, without a lot of self-directed mental processing. Sometimes they may slow even further to the theta rhythm (4-7 cycles per second), during which we may get a “floating” feeling, dreamlike mental imagery, and withdrawal from the outside world. Does either of these feelings sound familiar to you? I’ve been saying for a long time that I can feel the relaxation response kick in after about seven to eight minutes of practice. The best way I can describe it is to say things start to go darker, as if a dimmer switch deep inside me was gradually turning down toward off. Recently a friend of mine (who I didn’t even know had been practice yogic breathing for many, many years) overheard me say this, and interjected, “It’s the same for me. I feel the change after about seven or eight minutes.” Do any of you have similar observations? (And now you know why we recommend that you practice at least 10 minutes.)

To be sure, there is still much that is unknown about these unique states, but what it is known is that regular practice of conscious relaxation helps foster ongoing feelings of serenity, contentment, and even happiness. Do tell me about your own experiences.

(Whew! I feel better. Now I’m going to go fix the original post.)

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