Five Points To Remember

1. Learn to be calm. You can and should develop your skills in relaxation. You should look for good instruction through workshops, video tapes or audio tapes and then practice those skills every single day. If you like yoga, do yoga. If you like meditation, then meditate. Don’t think about it. Just do it!

2. Calming is a self-regulatory skill. It must be directed from within. You have to learn to calm yourself and relax when you need to do so. Music is great, but you need to learn to be able to relax without it. You need to be able to relax when you are alone, or in a crowd, in the morning, at noon or at night. With time and practice, you can learn to relax.

3. Don’t force it - you cannot learn to relax by forcing it or trying too hard. You have to learn how to relax by learning to let it happen without forcing it. The key to calming is learning to let go.

4. A calming program will be unique to you. To find the techniques that work most effectively for you, start where you have the most tension. If you are having muscular pain (e.g. headaches), find relaxation techniques designed to relax muscles, such as massage. Keep in mind emotional stress causes muscular tension, so you may have to combine massage with techniques that relax your mind. Some people do well with audio tapes. If breathing works well for you, move into the use of Zen meditation. Experiment without being hard on yourself. If you try new things and give yourself time, you will learn a set of techniques that work for you.

5. Results are cumulative. The more you practice relaxation, the more you will be able to calm yourself. You will feel results more rapidly and effects will spread.

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