Your new eye pillow has arrived and you are looking forward to trying it out and hope that the combination of soothing herbs and the gentle weight on your eyes will help you to fall into a state of deep relaxation.

So, you lie down, place the eye pillow over your eyes, but you can hear the cars going by in the street or your neighbor next door talking too loudly on her phone. In fact, every noise that you didn't hear before has suddenly amplified and you think that your eye pillow smells great but isn't helping to release the tension in your neck that has built up over the day.

Your Body May Need Extra Convincing to Relax

Sometimes, just laying down and trying to relax isn't enough and we need extra persuasion to get us to release tension. You could try putting on some headphones and listening to some gentle music - no fast beats. Try some ambient type tunes or you could even get a seashore recording CD to listen to and pretend that you are relaxing on the beach. If you don't want to be at the beach, then try a nature sound CD and imagine that you have found a cool deserted glade in a forest on a hot day with a stream running by somewhere near.

Guided Imagery

If you prefer something more structured, then try listening to some of Belleruth Naparstek's guided imagery CDs. A great one is her Relaxation & Wellness which you can download right away or purchase as a CD.

You may not always need the extra relaxation prompts and most of the time just taking 10 minutes to yourself and placing your eye pillow over your eyes, inhaling the natural aroma of the herbs will help to release any tension and anxiety.

Happy relaxation and wellness to all!