Techniques for Relaxing
and Clearing your Mind
Last Updated June 28, 2006
"Who made the earth a resting place for you and the heaven a canopy and (Who) sends down rain from the cloud then brings forth with it subsistence for you of the fruits; therefore do not set up rivals to Allah while you know."
Quran Soorah Al-Bakarah 2:22
Due to years of stressful living and being in stressful environments
you may have forgotten how to ‘turn off’ the stress and ‘turn on’ the
relaxation.
"So be steadfast in the face of what they say and glorify your Lord with praise before the rising of the Sun and before its setting. And glorify Him during part of the night and at both ends of the day, so that hopefully you will be pleased."
(Surah Ta Ha, 130)
As human beings we are prone to forgetfulness and heedlessness. If we fail to use our will power and become caught up in the flow of daily life, we generally move away from subjects to which they should actually turn their attention and cling to. We may forget that Allah enfolds and surrounds us in all ways, that He sees and hears us at every moment, that we will have to account to Allah for all that we do; we forget death, the existence of Paradise and Hell, that nothing can happen that is not destined, and that there is something auspicious in everything and every event. By falling into heedlessness we can forget the true purpose of life.
Allah says interpretation of the Quran,
"I am Allah. There is no god but Me, so worship Me and establish salat to remember Me." (Surah Ta Ha, 14)
Techniques for Relaxing and Clearing your Mind #1
While keeping your eyes open shrug your shoulders a couple times.
Techniques for Relaxing and Clearing your Mind #2Stretch out your arms, legs, ankles and wrists. Gently rotate these body parts by following through your range of motion flexing them back and forth and sometimes in circles.
Techniques for Relaxing and Clearing your Mind #3
Make yourself comfortable sitting on couch, chair or on a pillow on the floor .
Techniques for Relaxing and Clearing your Mind #4
Inhale deeply focusing on your breathing by pulling the air up deep from inside your stomach and than gently exhale
Techniques for Relaxing and Clearing your Mind #5
Remember Allah much by repeating incantations such as: Forgive me Allah/God (Esteck fidrAllah), Praise be to Allah/God (Alhumdulillah), Allah/God is Greatest (Allahoakbar)
Techniques for Relaxing and Clearing your Mind #6
When troubles come to your mind inhale deeply and as you exhale blow out your troubles.
- If time is an issue than allow your self a three to five minute break. This may be most helpful if done in the morning and in the evening. Go and wash yourself (Muslims this means go do your wudu and pray two rakats) and pray to Allah
- Seek refuge from Shaitan and stand before your Lord in humility and magnify his glory. Make supplications to Allah to ease your hardship. As you accustom yourself to relaxing and praising Allah it will get easier to settle down and you will notice much improvement a whole lot faster.
Trust in Allah and do not allow your mind and body to fool you into thinking that praying and supplicationg to Allah did not work. Increase your good deeds as much as you can and abstain from sinning. Give much charity secretly, take care of an orphan, divorcee, family and ect... Read Quran slowly and carefully, obtain righteous and pious friends, carefully study after notable scholors in Islam and pray on time as well as observe Qiam (night prayer with Witr).
These techniques for relaxing and clearing your mind are very good for anxiety attacks, anger and distress. It is really important that you go to your Lord with your problems and seek refuge in Allah (God) from all troubles and being misguided. This is just meant to aid in helping one to get a grip to be able to focus better when in prayer on your worship.
"Those who spend (benevolently) in ease as well as in straitness, and those who restrain (their) anger and pardon men; and Allah loves the doers of good (to others)."
Quran Soorah Al-Imran 3:134
Establishing prayer is a proven effective method in overcoming stress and hardship in all aspects of ones conditions. Remind your self often that prayer is benefical for all circumstances and that if you had not taken the time to relax and pray you would be even more stressed.
Taken from http://www.islamonline.net
1. Increase dhikr (remembrance of Allah): "Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction (Qur'an, 13:28)."
For more information on dhikr (supplications and remembrance of Allah) click here
2.Increase prayers: "O you who believe! Seek assistance through patience and prayer; surely, Allah is with the patient (Qur'an, 2:153)." Regardless of the type of meditation, recent studies have verified the physiological effects of meditation. Most of those mediations consist in focusing on something, repeating some words and breathing (Greenberg, p.142, 143).
For more information on the importance and the benefits of prayers click here
3. Perform ablutions: The most important component of relaxation is what Hans Loehr calls "the rituals of success." These rituals may be as simple as making ablution; yet, they must be performed properly for it is not enough to pass water on the body parts - those parts must be massed.
4. Ask for forgiveness: Even if a person has not done anything wrong, he must insure the forgiveness of Allah. "Then I said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord; surely, He is the most Forgiving'" (Qur'an, 71:10).
5. Recite the Qur'an: The Prophet (SAW) said, "… Qur'an is a remedy for illnesses of the mind" (Bukhari). "The echo of sound has a medical effect and is now widely utilized," says Dr. Greenberg. "The recitation of or listening to the Qur'an has an effect on the body, the heart and the mind! It is said that the letter Alif echoes to the heart and the letter Ya' to the pineal gland in the brain. Dr Ahmed El Kadi of Akber Clinic (Panama City, FL) conducted and published the effects of listening to Qur'anic recitation on physiological parameters (i.e., the heart, blood pressure, and muscle tension), and reported improvement in all factors, irrespective of whether the listener was a Muslim or a non-Muslim, Arab or non-Arab. Obviously, it can be postulated that those who understand and enjoy the recitation with a belief in it will get maximum benefits," writes Dr Athar.
6. Make the hereafter one's main concern: "Whoever has the hereafter as his main concern, Allah will fill his heart with a feeling of richness and independence; he will be focused and feel content, and this world will come to him in spite of it. Whoever has this world as his main concern, Allah will cause him to feel constant fear of poverty; he will be distracted and unfocused, and he will have nothing of this world except what was already predestined for him," said the Prophet (SAW). One of the greatest causes of stress is money - how to pay the loans, whether one's job will be lost, what will happen to the family if the father dies, etc.
For more information on the hereafter:
The Punishment of The Grave Click Here
The Beautiful Reward in Paradise, Heaven or known as Jannah Click Here
The Torturing Punishment of Living in The Hell Fire Click Here
7. Think positively: Muslims should forget about the bad things of the past and think of good things, always having hope that he can be better. Trying to change the past is a foolish and crazy waste of time, "for saying 'if only…'opens the way to Shaytan" said the Prophet (SAW). The Prophet (SAW) also said, " Know that victory (achievement) comes through patience, and that ease comes through hardship." Muslims understand that there's no reason for panic in the case of crisis - no reason to be distressed or worried for we know that after hardship come ease!
8. Do not waste time on thoughts of fear or stress: "The search of time is one of the most frequent causes of stress" (Seyle, p.102). Laziness is the mother of all evils, and the Prophet (SAW) used to seek refuge in Allah from it. Understanding that this life is short and time precious, Muslims should try to work hard and pursue worthy knowledge (Munajjid).
References
Greenberg, Jerrold S. CSM = Comprehensive Stress Management. WCB: McGraw-Hill. 1999.
Munajjid, Sheik Muhammad. Book of Sheikh Muhammed Salih Al-Munajjid: Dealing with Stress and Worries.
Sahih Bukhari.
Seyle, Hans. The Stress Without Distress. N.Y.: Lippincott. 1974.
Shakir Translation. Holy Qur'an
For more information please read Taqwa Allah for more information about praying with complete attention (Ihsaan).