Relaxation is a practice, like any other. Stress, trauma, and tension can hamper our ability to rest and relax, so we can do “relaxation drills” to get in the habit of full, deep relaxation. Try taking 20 minutes once or twice daily to deeply relax and notice how it effects you during the rest of the day. Just remember not to be hard on yourself if you don’t feel a sense of ease right away. The best tools you can use during meditation are patience, self-kindness, and a comfortable place to sit.
Relaxation meditation can help us move through our days with more calm, clarity, and awareness. From this place of peacefulness, we’re better equipped to handle challenging situations, to make thoughtful and informed decisions, communicate well, come up with creative ideas, and more.
A 10-Minute Deep Relaxation Meditation
A Guided Meditation for Deep Relaxation
- 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.
- When we simply sit and breathe, we activate the body’s calming response. It allows the brain to display the calm, smooth, harmonious waves called alpha brain waves—like the waves of the ocean, coming in to the shore and rolling back out. Coming in and going out. Breathing in and breathing out. Relax.
- Drop your shoulders, relax the jaw, and unfurl your brow. Allow your mind to float freely until it settles down. Let thoughts come and go as they please.
- Bring your attention back gently to your breath. Don’t exert yourself trying to block thoughts. Just remain passive and remind your body that we’re sitting now, we’re breathing now, we’re relaxing now. Sit quietly, stay with your breath. Like the waves of the ocean, breathing in, breathing out. Let thoughts fade into the background. Relax. To be still, to be quiet, to be at ease. This is the gift of relaxation.
READ MORE
R.E.S.T.—A Guided Practice for the Tired and Weary
Rashid Hughes invites us to become more familiar with our inner spaciousness—where the pleasure of resting in awareness is sacred and healing.
Read More 
The Top 10 Guided Meditations of 2022
To help you deepen your mindfulness practice (or get started), we’ve rounded up a list of guided meditations that have resonated most with our readers over the past year.
Read More
