Relaxation techniques are becoming a trending term on internet search engines as more and more people seek ways of coping with the stress of 21st-century living.

A variety of methods are available to achieve the relax­ation response - a state of deep rest that counteracts the nega­tive effects of stress.

Stress, in itself, is not a bad thing. What makes all the difference is how you cope with it.  Stress usually throws our life out of balance, sometimes causing physical and psychological problems.

Yet stress cannot be avoided, and so it is worth thinking about how to make the best possible use of it.