It's a natural skill that most of us have forgotten how to use. As children we could relax at will, anywhere. With just a little persistence, a good tape or two, and about 15 minutes a day you can quickly become skilled at it once again. Relaxation enables you to take an break and switch off from the stresses of life whenever you wish. It provides a few precious moments in which to re-charge your mental and physical batteries.
Relaxation is the bed-rock of effective stress management.
It enables you to stand back and switch off from problems - so that, often, when you return to them you can perceive solutions that had previously escaped you. If you have intense fears or phobias you will find your relaxation skills essential for using systematic desensitisation to dissolve your fears. How to relax - with a relaxation tape Get a good relaxation tape and spend a few weeks or even months becoming skilled at switching off and deeply relaxing whenever you wish. It may be helpful to use a tape with a commentary at first, since this will take you through a series of steps to help you become deeply relaxed. However once you have learned how to do this it is best to use a music-only tape and to use your own imagination to relax deeply and to actively utilise imagery during the session.