Releasing Tension with the "Drain" Method Medea Moonfire 1996 This is a method I use to release tension from the body. Sit in a chair with your feet on the floor (or to Earth if you're outside).  Close your eyes and take some even breaths. Inhale slowly through the nose to the count of 4 or five, then exhale through the nose to the same count. Do this at least 10 times to help yourself relax and bring your awareness inward.  Center your awareness. When you're ready, start relaxing the body. Keep your eyes closed and your breath slow and even.  You can begin at the feet and work your way up or vice-versa. As you focus on relaxing each part of the body, you will also drain the tension out of your body through the soles of the feet and into the Earth, where it will be recycled into healing and positive energy. As you begin, relax the top of the head and face. Let your jaw relax. Relax the valleys between the nose and the ears, relax the forehead. If you see or feel any tensions in any of these places, imagine them draining down through the soles of your feet and into the Earth, where they will be recycled into healing or beneficial energy for the Earth. Relax the muscles of the neck and shoulders. Relax the valley between the neck and the shoulders. Release your shoulders so they are not hunched up. All the while, releasing any tension you feel through the soles of the feet and into the Earth.  Relax the arms.  Make sure none of the joints are rigid.  Relax the hands and fingers. As you're doing all of this, continue to release the tension, allowing it to drain from the soles of your feet and into the Earth.  Release the chest, release the spine and the muscles of the back (the top, middle, sides, the small of the back). Release the groin, buttocks, then work down the thighs, hamstrings, knees, calves, feet, and toes. This meditaion can take some time, but it is well worth it. If you are outside, or near a window you may feel the warmth of the Sun and enlist it's aid in helping your relax and release tension. Variations: You may want to open your chakras and release any impurities into the Earth at this time. Don't forget to close them back up:) If you are ill you may want to also release the impurities of the illness out through the soles of your feet and into the Earth where they will be recycled.  As you do this meditation you may even find an ailment or impurity that you were not aware of. This is more likely as your mediation skills and level of inward awareness increase with practice. If you practice this meditation, or one like it regularly, you may become quite intuned with what the healthy you looks like on the inside, and therefore may see something wrong before it even manifests into physical symptoms.