Life styles are becoming more demanding, which is resulting in stress, tension and an inability to work efficiently. Importantly, stress becomes so much apart of the norm that it becomes acceptable. Stress is insidious! Meaning our lack of awareness allows it [stress] to work in the background and then bang, it hits you. At the very least you could end up with a cold and at the very worst it could give you a heart attack. The aim is not to scare you, but it’s a truth that is very prevalent in today’s society.

Soothe offers to you a system of relaxation that is commonly used with elite athletes. Progressive Relaxation technique (1938) by Edmund Jacobsen, designed a system whereby the athlete could become aware of various tensions in the body with the ultimate purpose being to locate the tension and relax within seconds.

Some times we apply extra tension on ourselves by assuming that we have to put 110% into everything. Trying to sustain this level of intensity is hard work and counter productive. By trying to hard we use a lot of energy and create too much tension in most areas of the body as you are trying to ‘push’ to get the job done. This can only lead to inaccuracies and we end up using faculties that aren’t necessary. The idea is to learn to be able to use the right faculties at the right time. To use a sporting analogy, a baseball player was asked to throw the ball as fast as he could by using all the muscles in his arm. What is wrong with this you may ask? Some of the muscles worked ‘against’ him, hindering the speed and accuracy of the shot. By consciously relaxing the muscles that worked to hinder the speed and accuracy, the pitcher found that he could throw quicker and be more accurate.

To master the Progressive relax technique takes time and practice, but the benefits are undeniable not just for athletes, but in day to day activities and situations, e.g. going for an interview, going on a date, having to problem solve for some important business venture.

The complexities of stress a far and wide, and learning this technique will not resolve the whole concept of stress. However, being able to reduce tension can only be beneficial.

By being in a calm and composed state, you expend less energy and increase the likelihood of success in your ventures.

Learning to relax is also an excellent pre-curser to meditation.