Road to wellbeing
A tool for managing stress of everyday life.
Welcome to the Road to wellbeing. With the help of this audio we hope to take you on a journey where you will learn more about yourself, and how to control the effects of stress on your body. Many of us experience the effects of the stresses and tensions of everyday life, which if allowed to build up, can cause exhaustion and lead to ill-health.
Learning to relax can help. Relaxation is a skill that needs to be learnt and like any other skill, will only improve with regular practise. If done on a daily basis, relaxation should help to control the effects of stress on your body and will help prevent a build up of tension. It takes some people longer than others to learn the technique, so don’t worry if at first you feel little or no benefit from using this audio.
Don’t give up, regular practise is the key to success.
How to use this audio
This audio introduces two types of relaxation. Firstly it teaches you a tense and release method. Secondly it teaches you how to relax your mind and includes a technique for calming your breathing. It is probably a good idea to start by listening to the whole of the audio first, so you know what to expect and you can try out the exercises. When you are ready just follow the instructions and remember it will take practise.
You may wish to start by trying out both the tense and release method and relaxing your mind method to find out which one suits you best, or you may feel both methods are helpful at different times.
If you have any specific medical problems or, if you are pregnant, have problems with your neck, back or blood pressure, or if you are concerned about any aspect of your general health, please see your doctor before attempting the tense and release exercises at the beginning of this audio. Remember, symptoms of stress may be due to other physical causes.
The relaxing your mind method is not recommended for anyone who is suffering from severe mental illness such as Schizophrenia, or for people who find concentrating very difficult, If you suffer from a less severe mental health problem and want to try the audio, please seek advice from your doctor.
You may experience ‘unusual’ feelings because of a greater awareness of your breathing and your body.
Follow the instructions carefully and only do what is comfortable for you. Allow yourself plenty of time to come round after any relaxation exercise.
Yawning can occur during relaxation – this is a good sign that you are unwinding. You may find yourself falling asleep during relaxation but this is not the ideal way to relax – it may indicate a lack of sleep.
Some people worry about losing control during relaxation. But you decide how much you want to let go and when you have had enough, hence you have control over the process.
You may find it difficult to relax if you are too tense. Try choosing a time in the day when you generally feel less tense, or do some gentle physical exercises to loosen up before relaxation.
Listening to this audio while driving or operating machinery is not recommended.
We would like to thank Peter Kendell who wrote and produced the background music on this audio and the BBC for their help with recording.
We acknowledge Daniels Publishing for the use of ‘The Garden’ script.
Every effort has been made to ensure that the information contained on this audio is accurate. Dudley MBC accepts no responsibility for any errors or omissions.
Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council – Health & Wellbeing Division
Tel: 01384 816437
Email: roadtorelaxation@dudley.gov.uk
© 2017 Audio version Dudley MBC. Originally produced by the NHS in (1999)