In the previous article, we learned what and how to achieve true relaxation. Here, we enumerate the stages of relaxation for us to better recognize where we stand and how we can further improve.

The first stage is the feeling of restlessness.  You find it very difficult to shut your eyes. You cannot keep their eyeballs fixed at one point. You cannot keep your body motionless even just for 5 minutes.  You cannot keep your mind concentrated at one thing.  A new thought always pops up to disturb your mind.

The second stage, by practice of a little meditation, you become restful but only once in a while.  You are still restless most of the time. Although you know that your meditation practice helps you calm down, you still cannot find the discipline and effort to sit and meditate more often.

In the third stage you develop calmness and find restfulness much easier as a result of a more regular practice of concentration and meditation. Still, you may lose this peaceful state of mind due to events, situations or the environment.

The fourth stage, by deeper and longer practice of concentration and meditation and higher lessons from a real Guru, you are restful most of the time.  You are the opposite of the person on the second stage.   By a scientific meditation practice, you slowly reverse your restless nature to that of calmness.

Finally, the fifth stage, is reaching a state of pure joy or bliss. This means you, the act of meditation, and the object of your meditation are the same.  You are restful all the time without being restless.

Through meditation, we may reach perfect conscious relaxation as compared to sleep where it is unconscious partial relaxation. In fact, with a regular meditation practice, your sleep will improve, making it deeper and more relaxing.