Tapes and CDS for Relaxation, Surgery, Pain, Anxiety and Low Esteem

Frequently Asked Questions

When is the best time to listen to my tape?

The relaxation tape or CD and Part 1 of the tapes with affirmations are designed to help you feel very relaxed. So it is best to pick a time when you can sit or lie down quietly without distractions.

Part 2 has affirmations for surgery or pain or anxiety. For maximum benefit, listen to the affirmations, immediately after hearing part 1. The relaxed state created by part 1 will support you to believe and accept the affirmations.

For additional reinforcement of the affirmation messages you can have the tape playing in the background while you are doing light chores. The best time will vary according to when you feel the need to listen. If you are feeling anxiety or pain, try your affirmation tape at that moment.

For the relaxation tapes: Some people need to relax at the beginning of the day. Others feel a greater need in the middle of the day. Some people use relaxation tapes to help them fall asleep.

I have problems with pain, but I do not want a tape with affirmations. Will the basic relaxation tape help my pain?

Yes. Studies show that using the techniques on the basic relaxation tape reduce pain levels for people in pain. These techniques also work for pain after surgery and for reducing anxiety. Using the relaxation tape (with or without affirmations) before surgery is also helpful. Your body tolerates the surgery better when you are relaxed. Using a relaxation tape before, during and after surgery promotes faster recovery and healing.

Will I benefit from the affirmations and healing visualizations if I fall asleep while the tape is playing?

Yes. Ideally your mind is most receptive to thinking and believing optimistic, healing thoughts in that twilight period just before you fall asleep at night and just as you become awake in the morning. If a tape is played when you are already asleep, you won't hear it and it won't affect you. But if you know in a general sense what is on the tape and choose to play it and then fall asleep, you have already consciously chosen to commit to the positive ideas on the tape. That commitment is what registers in your unconscious mind as you are falling asleep. It is helpful to your health to commit to positive, relaxing thoughts as you are falling asleep.

The tapes and CDs instruct me to "feel my breath" and "watch my breath". How do I "feel my breath"? How do I "watch my breath"?

The idea is to focus your attention on the bodily sensations that you feel when you are breathing. Some people will be most aware of the air passing in and out of their nose or mouth. Others will feel their breath as a sense that their chest is expanding and then contracting. Others will feel this expanding and contracting in the stomach. Some will notice that the breathing sensation is most pronounced in their neck. Wherever you find it, try to notice the physical sensations that you feel when you inhale and exhale. There are many possibilities and no way of experiencing your breath is better than any other. It doesn't matter whether you breathe through your nose or through your mouth.

Is there an ideal position to be in, when listening to these tapes or CDS?

Many people recommend sitting on a firm but comfortable chair with your eyes closed and your legs uncrossed. It is good to be in a position that allows your spine to be relatively straight. Sitting is suggested over lying down because of the tendency of some to fall asleep when lying down. Keeping your legs uncrossed allows for energy to flow freely through your body. But these are only recommendations. The most important thing is to get as comfortable as you can. For example, despite the recommendation to be sitting, I frequently listen to tapes or CDs when lying down because it is more comfortable to me. If I listen with a clear intention to stay awake, I do not fall asleep.
Of course, if you are using the relaxation tape to fall asleep, you will want to listen lying down.

I have problems with tension due to the stress in my life, but otherwise my health is good. Will the relaxation and healing tapes help me?

Yes. The relaxation portion of the relaxation and healing tapes will definetely help you let go of stress. When you hear the portion of the tape that asks you to imagine healing energy filling your body, you can view "healing " as learning to be calmer in times of stress. The healing energy can be very soothing to the tense parts of your body.

I have problems with pain, but I do not want a tape with affirmations. Will the basic relaxation tape help my pain?

Yes. Studies show that using the techniques on the basic relaxation tape reduce pain levels for people in pain. These techniques also work for pain after surgery and for reducing anxiety. Using the relaxation tape (with or without affirmations) before surgery is also helpful. Your body tolerates the surgery better when you are relaxed. Using a relaxation tape before, during and after surgery promotes faster recovery and healing.

I want to buy one of the affirmation tapes, but it has one affirmation that is not appropriate for me.

Before listening to the tape, think of the affirmation in question. Then say to yourself,
"Even though I don't like this affirmation, I deeply and completely love and accept myself."