• Lie, stand or sit with your feet apart. Rest your hands loosely in your lap.

• Close your eyes and slow yourself down for a few minutes, by breathing a little more deeply and slowly than usual

• Be conscious of the tension in your whole body, through your toes, feet, calves, thighs, abdomen, chest, back, fingers, arms, shoulders, neck, head, scalp and face

• Now, each time you breathe out, allow some of the tension to go out of these areas. Let all your muscles slowly relax and enjoy the feeling of peace and calm which comes from total relaxation

• Sit quietly for a while and help your mind relax by thinking about the pleasant experience of complete relaxation.

• Open your eyes, stretch slowly and return to your day.

Sometimes I have trouble falling asleep, so I listen to relaxing music, which can be a tremendous help. Lately I’ve been listening to some wonderful Native American flute music by Scott Cunningham (visit his website at http://www.oginali.com) to help me go to sleep as well as recently during some very busy days to help me not feel so
stressed out. I’ve also drifted off to sleep listening to a guided meditation by Ron Mann, Ph.D., Sleep. You can check out Ron’s tapes at http://www.ronmann.com/. I’ve listed more listening ideas at the Bibliography and Discography.

What exactly is “relaxing” music? Whether we are aware of it or not, music that’s relaxing tends to slow down our heart rates to about one beat per second. If we’re feeling stressful, angry, anxious, or irritable, our heart rates tend to increase. Music can actually help our heart rates slow down to a more relaxing pace, changing our physiology. This phenomenon is what can help me fall asleep more easily. It’s what is found with many meditation tapes or other music specifically designed for stress reduction or relaxation.