Best Way to Do Deep Relaxation Exercise

This simple exercise requires no special equipment or training, and can easily be incorporated into your weekly routine. By focusing on breathing and relaxing the tension in your muscles, you will feel the stress slip away.

Preparation

Ensure you have 20 to 30 minutes during which you will not be disturbed. Find a place in which you feel comfortable, where the light is soft or dimmed, and that is relatively quiet. Your body temperature may drop during this process, so make sure you are warmly dressed in loose clothing. If you are sensitive to the cold, you may also like to have a blanket or shawl handy to pull over you if necessary. Find a comfortable position. You may lie on your back, your head supported by a pillow, or sit in a chair with your back straight; or you may prefer to sit on the floor, your back against a wall.

The Exercise

• Close your eyes and focus on your breath. Breathe deeply in through your nose to avoid drying out your mouth and throat, and exhale through your mouth. Be aware of how your breath feels as it fills your abdomen, and how it feels as you exhale and your abdomen falls.
• With each inhalation imagine all the tension in your body collecting together, and with each exhalation imagine all this tension leaving your body. Continue to breathe deeply and evenly.
• Now move your attention to different parts of your body. Begin with your feet. Let the floor take the full weight of your feet and feel them become heavy. Imagine them being so heavy that you couldn’t possibly move them. Now become aware of your legs. They are also becoming heavy, a weight on the floor. If you notice any tension, imagine it being released with each exhalation.
• Repeat step 3 with your concentration, focusing in turn, on your buttocks, stomach, back, arms, and head. There is no set amount of time for you to relax these areas of your body. Allow as much time as is necessary to feel all tension has left your muscles. Return to an area if you notice tension there at a later time.
• Return your attention to your breath. If you find your mind wandering, try not to participate in these stray thoughts; simply observe them before returning your focus to your breath. You will find that, as you become more practiced at relaxation techniques, you will be able to maintain your focus more easily.
• Bring your attention now to how you feel emotionally, and be aware of any stress you might be feeling. Try to view this stress as being separate from you and from your body. Continue breathing slowly while you observe the stress, and allow it to take on a shape and/or color.
• When you have established an image of the stress as a separate object, slowly watch it dissolve and flow away with each breath you exhale.

• Once you feel completely relaxed, allow yourself to stay where you are for as long as feels comfortable. Being in a deeply relaxed state can alter our sense of time. It is not unusual to feel that only a few moments have passed, when in reality you might have been relaxing for 15 or 20 minutes.
• Give yourself time to slowly return to an ordinary, waking state. You may like to gently stretch some of your muscles while you remain sitting or lying. You should only stand up when you feel ready, and any feelings of weightlessness or disorientation have passed.