Lesson 2
You can move on to Lesson 2 whenever you notice a relaxation response of any kind in your dominant arm. It may take a week or two or more for this to happen. A relaxation response would be a feeling of heaviness, lightness, warmth, softness, tingling, or numbness.
It does not matter whether you experience any of these or not. You can be sure that your body is responding with relaxation in some way, even though you do not perceive it. You may feel a relaxation response in another part of your body, particularly the other arm or one or both of your legs. This would indicate the beginning of the “generalization” of the heaviness formula. This would also mean that you are making progress. In any case, after two weeks of diligent practice, it is okay to move on to Lesson 2. A sensation of heaviness may occur at some later time, even after you experience the sensation of warmth.
Physiological changes do take place in your arms and legs when you relax deeply. As the muscles relax, they become heavier, and as the peripheral blood vessels dilate as the result of relaxation, they hold more blood, causing an increase in temperature and a sensation of warmth. You may perceive warmth before you perceive heaviness.
Please begin by reviewing the information given under “Basic Information” and in Lesson 1.
To simplify the instructions, instead of saying “right (left)” to refer to your dominant arm, I will say “right”. You can interpret “right” as meaning your dominant arm and “left” as meaning your non-dominant arm. I will also use this same terminology in referring to your legs.
We begin to use the background formulas in this lesson. You may use the ones that are given, or you may use similar statements of your choosing. Also, you may use the ones given, or you may use portions of them. You may want to use only one word, such as “calm,” “peace,” or “quiet.” In addition, you may insert them in any place that feels right to you.
Lie down on your bed or recliner chair and focus your attention in a very passive way on your dominant arm.
Say to yourself (think) once:
Switch your focus of attention to your other arm and say to yourself three times:
Switch your focus of attention to both arms at the same time and say to yourself three times:
Switch your focus of attention to your right leg and say to yourself three times:
Switch your focus of attention to your left leg and say to yourself three times:
Switch your focus of attention to both legs at the same time and say to yourself three times:
Switch your focus of attention to your arms and legs and say to yourself three times:
Do this exercise three times, canceling after the first and second times, as you did in Lesson 1. Do not spend more than one minute saying the formulas each time.
After the third time, you can stop saying the formulas and just enjoy staying in this state of deep relaxation for the remainder of the twenty minutes. Follow the directions given in Lesson 1 on how to maintain a completely passive state.
At the end of the twenty minutes, be sure to cancel by making two fists, bending and tensing your arms, taking a deep breath, and then opening your eyes.