Having successfully completed the four major muscle group progressive relaxation skill training procedure, you are ready for the easiest yet most important part. As before, we want you to reduce the number of muscle groups used for practice. This also will reduce the total amount of time required for the relaxation response to occur. This new procedure also will allow you to quickly and effectively reduce unwanted physiological activity whenever and wherever you wish. This step is of untold practical importance for athletes as they often only have a few seconds between plays to make changes in their body. To accomplish this rapid change, today we will introduce you to the "RELAX" method.

This new skill is very short and extremely easy to learn. This is because you have taken the time to practice all of the exercises leading up to this shorter procedure. All you need to do now is simply take a deep breath and hold it for three seconds while tensing your entire body. Then let the breath go while releasing the tension from your body and silently say the word "RELAX" to yourself. Today as you learn this procedure you should practice it out four times in a row. As you become skilled with this procedure, you will need only to tense your muscles once briefly to eliminate excess physiological arousal. Soon, in fact, you will need only say the word "RELAX" to yourself and you will find the changes occurring automatically!

Go ahead and practice the procedure right now. Just stand there and take a deep breath while tensing all the muscles in your body. Hold it for three seconds and let your breath out while releasing your muscles and saying the word "RELAX" silently to yourself.

Its that simple. The beauty of the procedure is that you can perform it without interrupting sport activities. This four deep breaths plus "RELAX" method of inducing relaxation is the ultimate skill that you have been working toward.

Your assignment for the next few days is to practice the four deep breaths plus "RELAX" method. By practicing the procedure, you will refine it to the point where you will can eliminate excess physiological activity and tension almost immediately.

You have probably realized how important this skill is to have during competition. Often times when you make one mistake it leads to another. The result of this cycle is an inability to perform optimally. Having this skill will allow you to take control immediately before your performance suffers. It is also useful to execute this skill at various points of a long game or match. You will find that your endurance improves enormously.

What you might not have considered, however, is how this skill can improve other areas of your life. Take academic tests for example. The more important a test is, the more your body responds with unwanted, destructive physiological activity. This excess activity can cause you to do poorly on a test, even if you have studied and learned the information. This is part of a problem known as "test anxiety". Test anxiety is one of the leading causes of poor test performance.

Another important use of this skill is in social situations. From time to time everyone gets scared or angry. Accompanying these unwanted emotions is excess physiological activity. Often times, these feelings cause us to lose control and do or say things that we later regret. Since you have the skill to gain control immediately, all you need to do is silently execute the "RELAX" method. You will find that you can immediately gain control and confidence. Your resulting actions then are likely to be more responsible and intelligent.

Finally, there are numerous health benefits from not allowing excess physiological activity to damage your body. First, you will suffer fewer injuries during practice and competition. More importantly, you are also setting a healthy pattern for later life. The ability to reduce stress will help you to avoid many different illnesses.