Page:Hatha yoga - or the yogi philosophy of physical well-being, with numberous excercises.djvu/236

236 The exercises given in the chapter on Relaxation will get you into the habit of relaxing at will, and those who have been troubled with sleeplessness, will find that they may acquire entirely new habits.

Now, we know that we cannot expect all of our students to go to bed like the child, and awaken early like the child, or the farmer. We wish that this were possible, but we realize just what modern life, particularly in the large cities, requires of one. So all that we can ask our students to do is to try to live as closely to nature in this respect as possible. Avoid so far as you can, late hours and excitement at night, and whenever you get a chance, retire early and rise early. We realize, of course, that all this will interfere with what you have been taught to regard as "pleasure," but we ask that in the midst of this so-called "pleasure" you take a little rest once in awhile. Sooner or later the race will return to more simple manners of living, and late hour dissipation will be regarded as we now regard the use of narcotics, drunkenness, etc. But in the meantime, all that we can say is "Do the best you can for yourself."

If you are able to get a little time off in the middle of the day, or other times, you will find that a half-hour's relaxation, or even a little "snooze," will do wonders toward refreshing you and enabling you to do better work when you arise. Many of our most successful business and professional men, have learned this secret, and many a time when they are reported as being "very busy for a half-hour" they are really lying on their couches, relaxing, breathing deeply, and giving nature a chance to recuperate.