A relaxing question...

[fajrdrako]

Do any of you clever people know where I can find a guided relaxation tape? Online and cheap? or any way at all at any cost?

I had one. Someone I used to work with - the first to leave the theatre because of the lay-offs - let me borrow his, and I copied it. He made a special order for it from the States, as it isn't something that's available up here. I hadn't listened to it in a year or more, but on Friday night I came home from work so frazzled I wanted to scream. Stresful week. Ah-hah, thought I, just the thing, I'll use the relaxation tape. That should do the trick.

So I lay back on my bed with a few deep breaths, pushed the button on my tape - and promptly got the plastic tape all tangled in the playing mechanism and had to get up and carefully pull it out without breaking the tape. Thinking: this isn't relaxing me, dammit, this is stressing me even more. By that time I was laughing, but still wanted to take a hammer to the frakking thing.

When I got it all untangled, it was playable, but not quite right. Not the tape it used to be. The pleasant female voice has become a masculine drawl and the music has switched to a minor key.

So I need a replacement. Since my friend with the original has gone on to other jobs and greener pastures, I can't just borrow it from him again. Any suggestions?

Comments

[boji.livejournal.com]

I stuck 'relaxation' into amazon.co.uk and a whole bunch of audio CD's came up, if that helps. A quick google led me to relaxation reviews (http://www.relaxationreviews.org) that seems to have links to free download stuff, so something may be of use.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! this is very helpful. I will browse.

[ceindreadh.livejournal.com]

Beware of relaxation tapes.
I once was listening to one at a friends house before an exam.
The tape was fine, made me nice and relaxed as I lay on the bed.
End of the tape, I sit up to go make myself a nice relaxing cup of tea, put my hand out for support, leaning all my weight on it, and manage to jam the point of a biro in the gap between my middle and ring finger.
That was the end of my relaxation for that night :-)

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

OUCH!

[neadods.livejournal.com]

I think there may be some podcasts that cover that kind of thing, if you've got iTunes.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Good idea. I do have iTunes - I'll do a search.

[teenygozer.livejournal.com]

Do a search for "muscle relaxation" (when I did just "relaxation", no quotes, I got a bunch of Frankie Goes To Hollywood MP3s!) on http://skreemr.com (a search engine for MP3s) and you'll get a six or seven MP3s on the subject. Try other words to scare up more MP3s.

Good luck with your relaxation!

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Thanks so much for the suggestions - they sound like good ones. I'll do the search tonight when I get home.

[filkferengi]

What relaxes you? If it's instrumentals, just let me know what kind, & I can upload some for you: L.A. Guitar Quartet [classical], Kim Robertson [harp], etc.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

I have plenty of relaxing music and musical relaxation tapes, and meditation CDs, and the like. No, what I'm looking for specifically is the kind of verbally guided relaxation you sometimes get in yoga class, where you are guided through a list of physical relaxation procedures - breath, usually, often tensing and relaxing certain body parts, using certain visualizations.