AN OCEAN OF EASE

QI know I need to rest—but I’m so stressed out I can’t manage to relax. How can I access the kind of relaxation that will allow me to actually rest and release stress?

AStress, trauma, and tension can hamper our ability to rest and relax. Relaxation is a practice, like any other. Try daily relaxation drills—take 20 minutes once or twice daily to deeply relax.

1 Start by sitting upright and comfortably, dropping your gaze. Don’t force yourself to relax, but simply sit quietly and allow your mind to float freely until it settles down.

2 Let thoughts come and go as they please. Don’t exert yourself by trying to block these thoughts. Don’t dwell on them, either.

3 Stay with your breath like the waves of the ocean, coming in to shore and rolling back out. Drop your shoulders, relax the jaw. Unfurrow your brow. Allow your mind to float freely. Until it settles down. Letting thoughts come and go as they please. This is relaxation. This is rest.