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Finish by letting your eyes travel slowly from one side to the other a few times, open or closed, then bring them back to the middle and notice how you are.
The idea borrowed from EMDR is that this helps the calmer state settle in rather than evaporate at the door. Whether it does that is not established, and the noticing at the end is valuable on its own: you are taking a reading of yourself after the practice rather than getting straight up and losing it. Ten seconds is enough.
Qur’an and Sunnah
'their skins and their hearts soften at the mention of God' (Quran 39:23). Something changes and is felt, and the noticing of it is part of the event rather than an afterthought.
ٱللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحۡسَنَ ٱلۡحَدِيثِ كِتَٰبࣰ ا مُّتَشَٰبِهࣰ ا مَّثَانِيَ تَقۡشَعِرُّ مِنۡهُ جُلُودُ ٱلَّذِينَ يَخۡشَوۡنَ رَبَّهُمۡ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمۡ وَقُلُوبُهُمۡ إِلَىٰ ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِۚ ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ يَهۡدِي بِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَمَن يُضۡلِلِ ٱللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُۥ مِنۡ هَادٍ
God has sent down the most beautiful of all teachings: a Scripture that is consistent and draws comparisons; that causes the skins of those in awe of their Lord to shiver. Then their skins and their hearts soften at the mention of God: such is God’s guidance. He guides with it whoever He will; no one can guide those God leaves to stray
Qur’an 39:23read it in the library
Translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem, The Qur'an, Oxford University Press, 2004.
What the research says
A systematic review of oxytocin's prosocial effects in humans is a good reminder here: the mechanism is invoked with great confidence around anything to do with closeness and calming, and the actual human evidence is mixed. Explanations of why an eye movement anchors a state deserve the same scepticism. That does not stop the practice being harmless and worth a try.
Macdonald K, Macdonald TM. (2010). The peptide that binds: a systematic review of oxytocin and its prosocial effects in humans.. Harvard review of psychiatry doi
Strength of evidence: one line of research. A single study, or a theoretical account.
Why it works
Pausing to register the state you are in makes it something you can remember and look for again.
This one is still a draft. It is waiting on a scholar and a clinician to read it before it is published.
Near this one
Body based approaches have been linked with better physical and mental health, easier relationships, and in some settings lower use of painkillers and psychiatric medication.
The first twinge often brings back every previous episode with it, and that dread is not separate from the pain. Fear tightens the muscles and turns the volume up.
Aching shoulders and a bad back are not separate from finding it hard to concentrate. Pain takes up room in your head, and there is less left for anything else.