Relaxation for Stress and Anxiety

1. Find a comfortable position seated on a chair with your feet on the floor. Close your eyes and suggest relaxation to your body and mind. 2. Breathe in, and as you exhale image a color of your choice. For example, if you are feeling anger breathe out the color red. 3. Begin inhaling through the nose, exhaling through the mouth, visualizing the color upon the exhalation. Inhale from the bottom of your lungs for 4 counts, hold for 2 counts and exhale for 4 counts. Continue this rhythmical breath for 3-6 minutes. Breathe away the tension, worries and anxieties on the exhalation. 4. Now use the breath to release the tension in your shoulders. As you inhale through the nose, draw the shoulders up, keeping shoulders up when holding the breath, exhale and release the shoulders. Continue for 1-3 minutes. Focus on releasing the muscles in your back. Tighten the muscles, hold, then release and relax. The shoulders are relaxed. Feelthe space between the shoulders, and the space between the neck and shoulders. 5. You are relaxed and release the rhythmical breath. Now begin breathing into any part of your body that feels tense. Focus your breathing on that area for 1-2 minutes; then move on to another area of the body until you feel the tension is released in your entire body. 6. Your body is feeling heavy. Your mind is relaxing as you are letting go of your worries. Let your body completely go and picture yourself floating on a cloud. 7. You feel comfortable on the fluffy, white cloud. The cloud and you are gently floating through the sky. You realize that your worries are below, and that they are all being cared for. Your problems look small from up above. Your body is feeling lighter and you realize that you are happy. Life is good and you are happy and grateful for all the love and goodness that surrounds you in your life. You are enjoying floating on the cloud, and going for a gentle ride through the sky. Your body relaxes deeper and deeper. 8. Now you are gently drifting down from the cloud, and the cloud releases you comfortably in your chair. You are relaxed in your chair. 9. You realize that the problems below are simply challenges for you to grow. As you inhale, you feel your chest opening. Whenever you feel challenged with a problem, you can inhale the worry through the nose, and exhale the worry out of your mouth. Visualize your problems becoming smaller with each exhalation. Namaste