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What comes to mind when you think of relaxation programs for stress relief? Do you think of things like meditation or yoga? Or how about those ubiquitous relaxation CDs with panpipes and babbling brooks?

Hordes of people obviously find these useful but they are all more or less examples of passive relaxation. The goal is to empty yourself of thought and attain stillness of body and mind. It feels wonderful when you arrive.

Restless minds and itchy fingers...

But there are many people who simply "cannot sit still in a quiet room alone", to paraphrase Pascal's famous quote. Such people cannot meditate more than one minute before their minds start to drift. For them, listening to a babbling brook is about as relaxing as Chinese water torture.

These are so-called "type A" personalities and the only time they are at rest is when sleeping – and even that is often fraught with difficulty. This is a real pity because these are the very people who most need genuine relaxation. Chronic stress is a factor in and sometimes an outright cause of high blood pressure and numerous other dangerous health conditions.

A breath of fresh air?

That's why a new method called slow breathing with music is so compelling. The method was developed as an easy, new way to apply therapeutic breathing, a breakthrough in natural blood pressure treatment. Therapeutic, or slow, breathing is clinically proven to lower high blood pressure using just 15 minutes a day.

A great feature of therapeutic breathing is that it can never reduce blood pressure below normal, healthy levels. This would seem to make the method great not only for lower blood pressure but also for stress relief as it is sublimely relaxing when done in the right way.

Ironically, the expensive and complicated biofeedback devices developed for therapeutic breathing neglect this very same important aspect: relaxation. For this reason, the method has met with mixed results among consumers.

The new method of slow breathing with music, however, puts relaxation first. But this is relaxation unlike most any other. The system is a simple audio program that combines a naturalistic, guided breathing soundtrack with relaxing music. Listeners simply synchronize their breathing with the soundtrack and relax to the soothing, beautiful music. Only very special types of music are suitable and these include gentle pieces of classical and ambient.

Unlike other types of guided breathing using counting or spoken instruction that quickly become tedious, slow breathing with this unique soundtrack is almost effortless and allows users to relax fully with the music. At the same time, it requires just enough attention to focus and occupy the mind.

Relaxation kung fu!

The even greater difference is that relaxation produced through this technique is not passive. Breathing in this way involves the entire body, relaxing muscles and tissues deep into the diaphragm. What develops is a rhythmic harmonizing of the body together with breathing and circulation.

It's the ultimate in relaxation, similar to that which can be experienced in the "moving meditation" of Tai Chi and other soft martial arts. It's a focused form of all-body relaxation that is simply not possible to achieve through listening alone or through other passive ways of relaxing.

Of course, martial arts take years of arduous training to master but slow breathing produces maximum benefits in just 15 minutes a day. So whether you need lower blood pressure or just want to relieve stress and anxiety or improve your sleep – but you don't have the patience for conventional "relaxation programs" – this may be just the thing. Slow breathing with music gives the chop to passive relaxation tapes and gently kicks you into genuine, deep relaxation that you can sink your teeth into!

Discover more about relaxation, stress management and lower blood pressure using slow breathing with music.