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II
Relaxation : Philosophical Version
In the preceding chapter we discussed the scientific version of what stress, strain and tension are. In this chapter, we shall discuss the philosophical version.
Three Types of Tension
Three types of tension are : 1. Muscular tension 2. Mental tension 3. Emotional tension.
Everybody suffers from these three types of tension, and relaxation is a harmless and useful antidote to counter their injurious effect. Half an hour's systematic total relaxation is equivalent to two hours' sleep in terms of rest and recovery of the muscles. Perhaps more.
Today every man is a victim of tension. He has no peace of mind and is always restless. When he is physically tired, he seeks relief in sleep or rest. Rest and sleep are good antidotes for muscular fatigue. Thus it is not difficult to identify muscular tension and also its remedy-rest and sleep.
On the other hand, while we know how to use our mental equipment, we do not know how to give rest to it. We know how to think but seldom do we know how to switch off the process of thinking. It is difficult to halt the train of thoughts because we are not aware of the process of mental rest.
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