Relaxation brings peace, happiness and creativity. It is possible to incorporate it into our daily life—taking a moment to completely put down our burdens after a long day at work, or scanning our body for a few minutes before we go to sleep. In challenging situations, 5 or 10 minutes of full attention on our breathing and body, in the sitting or lying position, can be very helpful and give us the space and clarity we need to continue.
In the Buddhist tradition we speak of “mindfulness of the body in the body” (kāyānupassanā). It means we become aware of the body from within the body, through our felt experience of the body.
Some years ago Thich Nhat Hanh shared: “We think that when we are not doing anything we are wasting our time, that is not true. Our time is first of all for us to be. To be ... to be what? To be alive, to be peace, to be joy, to be loving. And that is what the world needs the most. So we train ourself in order to be. And if you know the art of being peace, of being solid, then you have the ground for every action … because the ground for action is to be. And the quality of being determines the quality of doing. Action must be based on non-action.”
You can find many guided body scan relaxations on the free Plum Village App: https://plumvillage.app/
We hope this video introduction supports you in your practice at home, or with your sangha.
Enjoy your practice!Some years ago Thich Nhat Hanh shared: “We think that when we are not doing anything we are wasting our time, that is not true. Our time is first of all for us to be. To be ... to be what? To be alive, to be peace, to be joy, to be loving. And that is what the world needs the most. So we train ourself in order to be. And if you know the art of being peace, of being solid, then you have the ground for every action … because the ground for action is to be. And the quality of being determines the quality of doing. Action must be based on non-action.”
