Politeness

Step 1 : “Firstly, sit in a comfortable position on your chairs, or cross legged on the floor. Make sure your back is straight and head is upright. Take a deep breath and relax as you breathe out. Take another deep breath… and another…”

Step 2 : “Now relax any tensions in the body. Stretch your toes, then relax them. Tighten and tense the calf muscles, then relax them. Tense the muscles in your upper legs and thighs, and relax them. Pull in your stomach muscles, then relax them. Pull the shoulders back, then relax them. Shrug the shoulders up and down. Look left, look forward, look right, look forward. Now screw up the face muscles and relax them. Feel your whole body relaxed – all tensions have gone. You feel good.”

Step 3 : Imagine you are a tree. You have branches reaching into the sky and roots stretching down into the earth, and you have a strong trunk… As you breathe in, feel new life and fun being drawn in through your branches. When you breathe out, your tree-body softens and your leaves shine..
As you breathe in, draw through your roots what you need to become stronger and sturdier… As you breathe out, become like cotton wool, soft and light… Now say good morning to the squirrels playing round your roots… Then say thank you to the birds who sing amongst your leaves…
Enjoy how you feel. When you are ready, open your eyes… they will be shining! Look at your friends, their eyes will be shining too!.

Step 4 : “Now bring your attention back to the classroom, open your eyes and stretch, as the exercise has finished. Smile at the person next to you and tell them the date and time.”

(After these silent sitting exercises students may wish to share their experiences and this should be encouraged, especially asking how they feel. It is a good time to do some creative work such as drawing a picture of their experience.)

Adapted from ‘Sathya Sai Education in Human Values’, Published by BISSE Limited