When people are stressed they often turn to a massage as a way of dealing with it and relaxing and easing their body. Well, letting your body relax is important but giving your mind a mental massage and helping that relax is also important. When your mind is relaxed your body also tends to be more relaxed and you can focus on what you're doing rather than on how terrible you feel.

One way of achieving this is to sit down comfortably with both feet flat on the floor and your hands in your lap. Take a deep breath in and as you breathe out close your eyes and let your shoulders relax. Take another breath and feel your other muscles relax as you breathe out. Be aware of how different your muscles feel as they relax, maybe wiggling your limbs to really let go. If you're not used to relaxing you will find at first that you still feel stiff, but persevere and experiment to see how much you can relax those muscles. Keep doing this, being aware of the difference in your muscles each time.

When you have taken 5 breaths, start to get rid of all the clutter in your mind. Just take all those tangled thoughts and put each one out of your mind. You might want to visualise a cupboard or filing cabinet to put them into; maybe let them float round your head or put them anywhere else where you know they are easily accessible but not in the way. You know how much easier it is when you can open the right drawer or go to exactly the right file and find exactly what you're looking for, rather than rummage around on an overcrowded desk. The same works for the thoughts in your mind.

If you have difficulty in visualising pictures that doesn't matter. This is more about using whichever senses give you the most relaxed feeling. If you find it easier to just focus on the overloaded feelings then just let those feelings become still or if they seem like voices or noises in your head then turn down the volume on them. Use whatever works for you

When your mind is clear let it fill up with a beautiful landscape, flower or scene. Be aware of the details in the scene and let that peaceful feeling that goes with it fill up your mind and senses. Again, use all your senses, peaceful sounds, peaceful feeling and peaceful images. You will find that eventually you take a deep breath. That is your cue to open your eyes and return to work with a clear mind and feeling refreshed. Do this at least once a day and you will find both your muscles and your mind become more relaxed.