Improve Your Relaxation Skills (Page 2 of 4)

Specific Relaxation Sequences

• Select a quiet place and a comfortable position. Choose a place you enjoy and a position, which does not create tension.
• Give yourself full permission to relax. Missing this step is one reason many relaxation plans don't succeed.
• Focus on your breathing as you begin to release tension. A good tip -- as you breathe out repeat to yourself the words, " Letting go . . . and relaxing." Repeat several times.
• Have a strategy for dealing with unnecessary thoughts. You may discover that as your body relaxes and your emotions calm, unnecessary thoughts continue to come into your mind. Don't fight it! As you practice relaxation techniques, the frequency of these thoughts will become less. You will look forward toward those moments of relaxation.
• Relax by letting go. You can't force yourself to relax -- it doesn't work. Relaxation is basically a letting-go process. There is simply no need to try to become relaxed. Just let it happen.
• Select a specific relaxation technique -- either the Progressive Relaxation Method or the Autogenic Approach. Try both methods to find which works best for you.

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