Self-hypnosis

Firstly, find somewhere comfortable and quiet and sit down. Now, relax your body. A good way of doing this is to close your eyes and imagine waves of relaxation running down your body from your scalp downwards, washing out stress. Let the waves run in time with your breathing, first washing down over your head, then your neck, then your torso, then arms, and finally your legs. Feel the muscles in your body relaxing as the waves of relaxation wash over them.

The next step is to use suggestion to deepen the state of relaxation. This can be as simple as saying something to yourself like: "I am feeling relaxed and comfortable. With every breath I am becoming more relaxed and more comfortable…" Alternatively, use the traditional approach of suggesting sleepiness: "I am tired and sleepy. I can feel the heaviness in my arms and legs. I am more and more tired…"

You are now in a quasi-'hypnotised' state. It's a good idea to give yourself the suggestion that you can immediately return to a full waking state if necessary. Otherwise, you should bring yourself out progressively, telling yourself that you will awaken fully refreshed as though you've had a good night's sleep. Typical self-hypnosis sessions can last between 15 and 25 minutes, however, they can last for as long as you like.

An alternative to using self-hypnosis is to listen to a hypnosis cd - the benefit of these is that you can listen to them and relax when you are too tired to hypnotize yourself.

Relax Each Part of Your Body

Starting with your toes, consciously clench, then relax each part of your body, part by part. Move on from your toes to each foot, each leg, each finger, each hand, and so on working your way up to your head. Stress is quite often most apparent in the jaw and wrist muscles, so concentrate on your jaw muscles and force them to slacken, imagining them going limp. Yawn. Do the same with your wrist muscles (except for the yawning bit). It loosens you up. By the time you've relaxed everything, you'll be feeling all floaty and lovely.

Deep Breathing

Take each breath right down through your chest into your diaphragm, before filling your chest (letting your ribs expand) and upper chest (allowing your shoulders lift slightly). If you pause for a count of one or two at the end of the in-breath and out-breath, it really can slow your heart-rate down and start to reduce blood pressure. The brilliant thing is that you feel the results within a couple of minutes.

Circular Breathing

What circular breathing does is focus you right down onto your breathing. It clears the mind so well that it allows you to think about things in a much clearer way. Once you've found somewhere quiet...

  Sit, stand or lie somewhere comfortable

  Breathe in only through your nose and only exhale through your mouth - that's the circular bit

  Breathe in steadily, counting to five in your head, hold it for two, then exhale for five - again steadily and in control

Repeat this for at least a couple of minutes uninterrupted.

Long Soaks

A bath is a classic relaxation technique, which begins with you filling the tub. Place a number of candles around you - as many as can be fitted in safely. Have a bottle of your favourite wine to hand and a really good book. Fragranced bubbles, luxuriant cosmetic treats and essential oils enhance the experience.