The first skill you need to learn is how to keep your voluntary muscles as relaxed as possible in stressful situations. You might ask “How can I possibly do that when I’m freaking out?”. The answer of course is practice, practice, practice. In order for you to develop this skill, you first need to practice relaxing in a safe, comfortable, situation. It needs to be done on a daily basis for several weeks. The actual exercises can be completed in about 12 minutes, and many people continue to use it daily. Learning how to be an expert at relaxing is the first of several skills you need to learn to calm down that freaking-out response.

Go to the exercises for relaxing away stress where you find details of how to start learning this essential skill.

Exercises for Relaxing Away Stress

Start off by watching the video demonstration below which will show you how to practice the first part of the Relaxation Exercises.

Video Demonstration (Movement Sequence Only)

Now it’s time for you to practice the Relaxation Exercises, using the Audio Tutorial which will guide you on how to practice the full version.  There are three parts to the audio version:

• First, you lie down, close your eyes, and listen to the recording. Next, tighten and relax each muscle group as I mention it, just as the person did in the above video. 
• Second, stay as still as you can and don’t move a muscle. Breathe as gently as possible while concentrating on getting each part of your body as relaxed as you can at the same time I mention it.
• Finally, continue to stay relaxed and breathe as gently as possible, but at the same time I want you to have in mind a simple, relaxing scene, or just think of a word, such as the word “calm.”

Audio Tutorial (Full Sequence)

Daily Practice of the Relaxation Exercises

• Practice the Relaxation Exercises when you have adequate time to do them. Rushing the exercises is not going to work.
• Practice at least once a day for the first 3 weeks.
• Practice at times when you are NOT stressed. Like any other motor skill, you need to practice in a safe situation; not in the middle of an emergency.
• At the end of the exercise, (if you are still awake!), just lie there for a couple of minutes and concentrate on the sensations that you feel in your body. The better you can remember this state, the easier you will be able to apply it when stressed.
• As you become more proficient with the exercise, eventually you will be able to drop into that relaxed state in a matter of a few seconds. More importantly, you will begin to find that you can begin to introduce this relaxed state into situations where you are feeling stress. If you persist in putting in a relaxed response in situations where you used to feel uptight, you will begin to notice that the level of anxiety will begin to decrease.

Being able to stay relaxed in threatening situations will greatly increase you feelings of mastery over your irrational fears.

Once you become familiar with these relaxation exercises , I strongly suggest that you then learn how to perform the Gentle Belly Breathing exercises. Combining these two exercises can greatly improve your skill of feeling considerably more calm as you face the many stressors of life.

More Techniques:
Gentle Belly Breathing
Conquering Procrastination
Reducing Fear Through Imagination
Facing Fear In The Real World
Fighting Depression Through Movement