Love of learning

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 : “Now become aware of your breathing. Take a deep breath, filling your lungs. Then in your own time, breathe out slowly. Let your eyes be gently closed and, as you breathe in, imagine clean healing energy is entering your body, filling you with happiness, love and peace. As you breathe out, imagine any uncomfortable feelings you have, such as sadness, tiredness, anger, annoyance, fear, boredom, jealousy or any other, being breathed out, leaving you feeling happy and free from worries. Repeat this 3 or 4 times. One by one, the things that upset you are breathed out and drift away.”

Step 4 : Imagine you are going for a ride in an airplane… Step inside your airplane and know that you are perfectly safe… The airplane rises gently into the air… Look through the window at the land below… See the uneven shape of the fields and dark green patches of trees… See the rivers curving across the land bringing water for the plants, animals and people… Now we are flying over the hills where the sheep graze peacefully… Now we are flying higher, over mountains with snow on their tops. See the beauty of the white glittering snow… On further down across the desert, rocky and sandy, for many miles.

There are many places where we could fly… Over the rain forests… over the snowy Arctic… So much to discover in life…

So many places to visit… So much fun in learning about the world…

Step 5 : “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