Words have tremendous power to influence your emotional state. Each word carries with it a field of emotional and mental associations. When you repeat a word or a name which has a positive ‘feeling’ or memory for you at least 5 minutes a day, it can re-create the same relaxed and joyful mood in you.
Step 1:
Sit down comfortably. Close your eyes and take a few deep, relaxed breaths.
Step 2:
Now, choose any word which has a positive association for you. It could be a general word such as ‘Peace’, or the name of a special person or a deity. For instance, you could chant ‘nithyanandam’, which means ‘Eternal Bliss’.
Step 3:
As you are inhaling, repeat silently in your mind your chosen word, e.g. ‘nithyanandam’. Feel the bliss enter you along with the word.
Step 4:
When you cannot take any more air inside, hold your breath and again repeat silently, ‘nithyanandam’. Let the joy and peace of the word fill you.
Step 5:
Exhale slowly in a relaxed manner. As you exhale, repeat ‘nithyanandam’.
Step 6:
When the air is fully out, hold it and again repeat ‘nithyanandam’. Let the empty space left by the outgoing air be filled with the resonance of bliss.
Step 7:
When you repeat this a few times, you will feel your body and mind naturally loosening. Continue till you feel totally comfortable and relaxed.
Step 8:
Sit silently with your eyes closed and breathe normally. Keep your body loose and just sit for five minutes. Let ‘nithyanandam’ sink into you.
