Practicing Awareness and Relaxation

Personal Experience

• Panic Sensations:
  • Felt in stomach, around heart, shoulders, and head
  • Initial response: sensations intensified upon observation
  • Father's advice: Gradual observation
    • Watch sensations briefly
    • Switch focus if too intense (e.g., listen to sounds, watch breath)
    • Return to observing sensations

Concept of Observing Sensations

• Analogy: Watching the river
  • If you see the river, you're outside of it
  • If you fall into the river, you can't see it
  • Similarly, watching panic sensations means you are not the panic
  • Space between you and panic forms automatically

Guided Relaxation Practice

• Preparation:
  • Keep spine loosely straight, close eyes
• Steps:
  1. Bring attention to forehead
     • Be aware of any sensations
     • Relax forehead
  2. Move attention to head, neck, face
     • Observe all types of sensations (pleasant, unpleasant, neutral)
     • Awareness if no sensation is also okay
  3. Relax shoulders; observe sensations from upper back to lower back
  4. Be aware of sensations in chest and stomach
     • Relax stomach, observe stomach sensations
  5. Extend awareness to arms and legs
  6. Observe sensations in the entire body
     • Try to relax body
     • If unable to relax, accept it as a sensation
• Overall: Everything is acceptable (positive, negative, or neutral sensations)
• Be free to be yourself
• Conclusion: Open eyes