Perhaps instead of signing up to a mindfulness course, or trying to establish a meditation practice, all you really need to do is commit to practising relaxation regularly.

We're all really good at the doing of life - striving, setting goals, working hard and getting things done - it's the calming ourselves down part, the letting go of stress and worry that we could use some help with.

Relaxation practice is not doing nothing: it's the active process of sparking up the peaceful half of your nervous system.

Here's what happens when you relax: your blood pressure lowers, your heart rate drops, your brain waves slow down, your digestion speeds up, your immune system is boosted, chronic muscular tension and pain is reduced, the quality and quantity of your sleep is improved ...

If you have been struggling with sleeplessness, headaches, anxiety, back pain or IBS, stress, anger, depression; if you seem to catch every bug that's going around, or you feel constantly exhausted, then it could be that a regular relaxation practice will change your life for the better.

In addition to this, your capacity to remain calm in the face of challenge and difficulty will revolutionise the way you live, your capacity for forgiving yourself for all of your little mistakes will increase, your worries won't seem so overwhelming any more and your frustrations with everyday life will diminish.

Relaxing is how you set yourself straight again when the world has wrung you out.
Relaxing makes us better humans.
Might as well start tonight.

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