Get rid of unwanted stress and lead a happy and healthy life by practicing this exercise twice a day, 15 minutes in the morning before you start you daytime activity and 15 minutes in the early evening or late afternoon, before you start your evening activity. Do not practice this exercise before going to bed as you may not be able to sleep.
First of all find a comfortable chair, preferably without armrests. Sit with your legs slightly apart, and find the most comfortable position. Sit with you back straight, do not slouch. Bring your hands lightly together and rest them on your lap, palms facing up like you are holding an imaginary ball. In this position you should be able to relax all body muscles.
Now that you are comfortable, take a deep breath and close your eyes. First let your leg muscles go limp, followed by your arms. Breathe regularly and try not to concentrate on anything except loosening your body muscles.
The second step is relaxing your face muscles starting from your forehead, slowly moving down to the muscles around your eyes followed by the muscles around your mouth. Move further down to relax your chin and throat, the back of your neck and your shoulder muscles.
If your body is completely at rest start relaxing your mind by picking up a one or two syllable word, repeating it over and over in your mind. During the first minutes or so, slowly open your eyes without focusing on anything and close them again slowly. Repeat this step once more after a further minute and continue repeating the “word” with closed eyes for about 15 minutes.
Do not concentrate too intensely; if your mind feels like wandering, so be it until you slowly pick up your “word” again. The wandering of your mind is part of the relaxation process, do not fight it.
At the end of the session slowly open up your eyes and you will notice how refreshed you feel.
