Go to a quiet room with soft lighting, close the door and sit in a comfortable chair, with your feet flat on the floor, or lie on a bed with your eyes closed.

Take a few deep breaths and as you exhale mentally say the world ‘relax’ to yourself.

Concentrate on your face and feel any tension, make a mental note of it and then mentally picture it relaxing and feeling comfortable.

Feel your face and eyes becoming more relaxed.

Tense your eyes and face, squeezing tightly, then relax them and feel the relaxation spreading through your body.

Now repeat these instructions to other part of you body starting with your face, and finishing with your jaw.

For each part of your body, mentally picture the tension melting away.

Now take another few deep breaths and as you exhale mentally say the word ‘relaxed’.

Rest quietly in this comfortable position for two to five minutes, or longer if you have the time.

This is an ideal process to do if you are in a lot of pain or struggling to go to sleep.

Don’t expect it to work straight away as you may find your mind wandering a few times before you get the hang of it, but it will work once you become more familiar with the practice.

Another very good relaxation for pain is ‘mental imagery’ which I will cover on my next post.