Building relaxation into everyday life
For these techniques to be of real use, you will need to build them into your everyday life, so that when something very stressful comes along, you are already thoroughly practiced in the skills of relaxation and can put them to good use in the midst of difficulty. The day of an examination, interview or presentation is not the day to begin practicing.

As time goes by, you will probably find that you are more readily aware of any signs of tension in your body. As you become more alert to the early warning signs in your body, you can begin to relax before tension becomes a major problem.

You may become so proficient that you do not need to tense up muscle groups prior to relaxing them - the tensing stage is not actually necessary, but was introduced as an easier method for beginners. You may find in time that you can simply relax at will.

You cannot overdose on these exercises; nor are they in any way harmful or addictive. They simply make good use of a natural process.

Practice when life is going well, and then gradually build it into more stressful events. Incorporate it into all aspects of your life and then you will be well able to keep disabling tension at bay when stressful events arise.