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Good posture helps a great deal with deep physical relaxation. Do not allow yourself to slump in the chair. If you start with good posture, your body will stay well balanced. If your posture is not good, when your muscles deeply relax, your body will sag. This can cause discomfort in the spine and joints, as well as circulation problems, all of which will interfere with relaxation. Put pillows behind your lower back and neck as necessary, to make sure you are not sagging. The head must be balanced and not be allowed to sag to the back or front or to one side. Close your eyes and let your head and neck relax. Move your head back and forth slowly and you will find there is an exact balance point, between where it falls, either way, through gravity. This balance point is the perfect position for your head. If you have a pillow behind your neck, it is permissible to let it fall lightly back into the pillow. A balanced head position has the added benefit of keeping you awake, as, if you drowse, your head will tend to fall onto your chest or to the side and so wake you up. Once you have some practice at balancing your body and working on deep physical relaxation, you can use anything, even a hard-backed wooden dining chair. If you have balance, you can relax to a very deep level anywhere and anytime and in virtually any situation. Relaxing Muscle Groups I have kept the deep physical relaxation exercises here as simple as possible. All that is required is to progressively tense and relax opposing groups of muscles. If you already know a full-body relaxation discipline, you can adapt it to this one, making sure all muscle groups are covered. Warning: Proceed slowly and gently with these exercises when you first start using them. It is very easy to strain little-used muscles and tendons with any system using opposing muscle groups, especially neck muscles. If in any doubt about your ability to do these exercises safely, please consult with your medical doctor or physical therapist first. With all these exercises, pay particular attention to the relaxation part at the end of it. Allow your muscles to sink and droop and totally relax after tensing. In the early stages of relaxation training, I suggest that this system be practiced repeatedly, until a whole-body feeling of cozy warm heaviness is achieved. Near enough is not good enough when it comes to deep physical relaxation for OBE. Practicing this thoroughly will save you a great deal of time and effort later, and will make projection much easier. This system, as with any other, will become quicker and more effective the more often it is used. With regular practice, a deep level of physical relaxation can be achieved in only a few minutes. Full-Body Stretch: Do this standing up or lying down, before settling yourself to begin the following exercises. Take a long, deep breath while stretching your arms and legs and arching your back and neck. Stretch yourself right out, as if very tired and having a full yawning stretch. Ten Breaths: Sit comfortably and get ready to begin. Close your eyes and relax for a minute or two, letting yourself settle down. When you are ready, take ten long, deep breaths, filling your lungs each time, then emptying them all the way out. Feel the tension draining out or your body every time you breathe out. Imagine a white cloud of sparkling energy is entering your body with each IN breath. Imagine this entering your nose and moving through your nasal passages, throat, and down into and filling your lungs. Imagine a dark cloud of tension is leaving your body with each long, OUT breath. Take your time over this. After the ten breaths, and throughout all the following exercises, if you can, keep a small part of your mind focused on your breathing, feeling it entering and leaving your body. This will help keep your mind clear, which aids deep physical relaxation enormously. Feet and Calves: Stretch back all toes and tense both feet and calves at the same time, for five seconds, then relax them. Curl toes downward and repeat, tensing both feet and calves, then relax them. Thighs: Tense both thighs, hold for five seconds, then relax them. Press down with both heels and tense them again, then relax again. Hips and Buttocks: Push buttocks backward into the chair and tense them, hold this for five seconds, then relax them. Rock hips forward slowly and tense for five seconds, then relax them. 83