"There are situations in life where we find ourselves holding our breath, and getting the fists clenched, or the shoulders come up, or the jaw gets tight. It actually isn't doing anything for anyone, that tension. As soon as you notice tension - in jaws, shoulder, neck, hands, belly, those are kind of key places - as soon as you notice it, why not just let it go, and then see what happens? Actually you can deal with situations of stress much better in a state of relaxation than in a state of tension. It's no good relaxing in a relaxing atmosphere - I mean, yes, it's nice to relax in a relaxing atmosphere - but that's not what the relaxation awareness is about. We're discovering relaxation through noticing unnecessary tension, discovering how to let that tension go, so that when things get tough we can stay relaxed. And you're relaxing in order to do something, so the tension that gets held in tense muscles redirects... If that emotional content stays in the holding muscles it's doing nobody any good. It's pointless. So you might as well relax and then see what happens." - Kristin Linklater, Freeing the Natural Voice with Kristin Linklater on The 21st Century Creative podcast