Assume a comfortable sitting position.
Take a deep, slow breath.
As you exhale, envision all your tensions and anxieties flowing outward with each breath.
Repeat as needed.
Assume a comfortable sitting position.
Close you eyes and breathe slowly.
Continue slow breathing, felling the tension leaving your body and becoming heavy.
Perform progressive relaxation of muscles by tightening muscles during inspiration and relaxing muscles during expiration.
Begin with muscles in feet and progress upward through the body muscles.
Assume a comfortable sitting position.
Use your imagination to experience a pleasant place or event.
Using all your senses smell the pleasant smells, feel the warmth or softness, taste something pleasant, see the pleasant surroundings, and hear the pleasant sounds.
Assume a comfortable sitting position.
Take several slow, deep breaths.
Have someone say these phrases in a slow, monotonous tone three times; then you say them silently and begin to relax:
My right arm is heavy and warm.
My left arm is heavy and warm.
My forehead is cool, and my face is relaxed.
My neck and shoulders are warm and heavy.
My breathing is slow and steady.
My heartbeat is slow and steady.
My entire body is warm and relaxed.
Identify a few very pleasant experiences.
Whenever an unpleasant thought enters your mind, say "stop."
Begin thinking about a pleasant experience.
As the process is repeated, it will become habit-forming.
Use warm lotion with massage to relax muscles.
Use a gliding light stroke to relax muscles.
Use strong, circular movements to loosen tight muscles and to improve circulation.
Use a kneading-type motion to relax tight muscles.