The Daisy Pond Stress-Busting Exercise

[rejoice]

Find a relaxed position

Close your eyes and count slowly from seven to one. As you count mentally, lower your tone with each descending number so that each count is diminished in volume: 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Imagine

Imagine you are standing alongside a pond of water. The water has large lily pads floating on the surface. One of the lily pads is large enough to lie on.

Project yourself mentally to the center of the lily pad. Imagine that you are on your back, resting comfortably.

Concentrate

Concentrate on your breathing but breathe easily. Now roll off the leaf into the water. Allow yourself to sink into the pond.

Focus on Your Breath

The water is magical in that it can be breathed. Each time you breath, imagine the magic water sending positive energy to all of your cells of your body, relaxing each one of them in turn.

Take three slow, deep breaths. As you exhale after each breath mentally say the word relax.

Draw the word out so that it takes the entire breath to say the word relax.

Imagine you are swimming and breathing under the water of the pond.

You can breath this water. It's magical water, restorative water. It's the water of life.

Play and Relax

Swim underwater and play with any fish you might see. After a while, project yourself back to the leaf and relax. Feel the leaf under your back as you lie there. Feel the buoyancy of the leaf as you float. Relax.

Relax. By now you should be in a state of great and relaxed comfort. Every cell of your body is smiling.

This is the mind (psyche) body (soma) separation that allows the mind to heal the body. This is healing, the opposite aspect of psychosomatic problems.

When you are totally relaxed and ready to come out, say to yourself:

"I am going to count from one to five and at the count of five I will be wide awake, energized, and every cell of my body will be recharged."

Count to five and open your eyes.

This exercise is called The Daisy Pond and it is a powerful technique to help you relax and reduce stress.