relaxation suggestions

from reading many posts on here we have seen that some of you use relaxation techniques to help you. we have never tried anything like that but were wondering if maybe you had any suggestions for any CDs we might try to help us sleep that have helped you before? like maybe nature or ocean sounds? looking forward to reading the replies. just trying to add another tool to our box♥

I like guided imagery meditations. You can download free ones from itunes if you have some sort of apple device.

unfortunately we dont own an ipod right now but thank you for the suggestion♥

I thought you could, if willing to have itunes on your computer, download the podcasts to computer or even burn to a cd.

Have you ever done the five tibetan rites? I find doing them relaxing. And free and no equipment.

http://www.mkprojects.com/pf_TibetanRites.htm

Be careful of the white noise machines...when you are really anxious or upset it sometimes sounds like people whispering. Even on a sane night I will swear I hear a dog barking on the one H uses.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation works really well for me.
I also find walking the dogs to be relaxing.

here are some free guided meditations by Tara Brach - different lengths, a few about 10 minutes or so.

Tara Brach Guided Meditations

When I started "relaxation", I couldn't stay still, so I started with stretch/yoga. I used the book, The full catastrophe living by Jon Kabat Zinn. The movement are well explain and illustrated in his book. You can probably find the book in a public library. He also made CD that guide you through the stretches. That is how I started, it felt safer to me at the time to move and keep my eyes open.
Good luck!

Yoga really helps me. It took me a while to get used to it. But tonight I was practically homicidal on the way to the YMCA. I'm much more mellow now.

I bought my CD's from www.wholeperson.com. I have one called "Warm and Heavy" which is 2 relaxation exercises, one is Warm and the other is Heavy. That one is my favorite, and I have a few others from there too.

Many folks like Bellaruth Naparstek guided imagery CD's. http://belleruthnaparstek.com/

wow we went out to eat and came home to an awesome bunch of suggestions! we are writing them down and will start checking them out tomorrow. thanks so much! the white noise machine unfortunately would me a MAJOR trigger for us as one of the primary abusers had one in their bedroom and turned it on to...well...you get the idea but we are so grateful to all those who have replied so far♥♥♥ you all rock!

Thanks Rainbow Rose!

that cracked us up-thanks!

T1 did a guided imagery/visualization thing with me, that I actually still use. It's like a special garden place in my mind that I can go to, and it really does help me to put myself in that place. It's like it somehow does shut out the rest of my chattering thoughts and helps me find a calm, safe, loved-feeling place. It's a very spiritual place for me, a spiritual connection place.
Deep breathing helps too.
Of course, I also run, do yoga, work in the yard, read outside in the sunshine. Those are all relaxing to me.
A cup of coffee in the morning, my chair in my quiet room, and my garden place in my mind - this is one of my favorite relaxing times.

can we come live with you? ♥

For me, music is much more relaxing than nature sounds on CD (nature sounds in nature is a different thing). Different music does it for different people - I once had a colleague who claimed that hard rock made him relax - but for me it's early, baroque and classical music in particular that works best. Especially early music. Listening to a hymn by Hildegard of Bingen can give me a physical feeling of muscles inside my head relaxing (which I know isn't happening, but it's how it feels!)

When I'm stressed out and can't sleep it sometimes helps me to listen to audiobooks, because they force my thoughts away from the stressful stuff. That's something my ex-T recommended, though I was actually already doing it. Libraries have audiobooks you can borrow, and there are free (public domain) audiobooks you can download from librivox.org (I personally don't use librivox that much because many of the narrators set my teeth on edge, but I know many people who listen to librivox books all the time and have no problem with it, so that's definitely a matter of personal preference.)

I have an audio file of the Psalms on my MP3 player that is quite nice too.

Pema Chodron has some books on tape/cds (she is a buddhist nun who talks/writes/expert about meditation) - I find her voice very soothing and use her in a rotation of these sorts of things to try to help me sleep.

you'd be welcome!
but I can guarantee it wouldn't always be that peaceful/peaceable, with 4 lively kids running around! it would be entertaining though.
and I'm intense, not always peaceful either .... but those things I mentioned have helped me deal with my intensity a lot, so that I can control it instead of it controlling or overpowering me.