Sometimes i go out in nature. with myself or with friends. i find water extremely relaxing to be around.

Music that has a reggae sound has a really relaxing effect.

A cup of coffee or tea, and a bowl of herb. i find this combination to be very relaxing. if i smoke too often. it doesnt seem to be as effective. also too much coffee will make me edgy. kava tea is the most relaxing, and i try to save when im most stressed.

Meditation, i find tough to do on my own. planned group meditations i get excited, and eager to participate in. i dont find myself inclined to make time for meditation on my own every day, even tho i know it would help me.

i spin poi, when i first picked it up i found it very relaxing, i still do at times, but some reason i dont pick them up immediately like i did in the past. im sort of at a plateau in my skill level. i know i could progress, but not sure wut to practice.

how do you relax?

I do Taoist Tai Chi, which is kind of like a YMCA or community centre style Tai Chi. It is very unpretentious, very accessible and really doesn’t get into Tai Chi esoterica at all. I recommend it to everyone. I find that it kind of invigorates and relaxes at the same time. Even though it’s focus isn’t on cultivating chi (which is this character: 氣, so it is not the same “chi” as in Tai Chi Chuan: 太極拳), it is a moving meditation, so if you can “grab the 氣 out of the air” more power to you really. You can get as esoteric as you want with Tai Chi, some schools actively train for competition and are really into the martial arts aspect. Taoist Tai Chi is way more chilled, the entire focus is on health. And you actually do sweat, so I guess part of the relaxation is having a beer after class!

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these are all pretty cool suggestions, i agree with doing something active, preferably outdoors.  I try to go on a hike or bike ride or something like that as often as possible.  Also there is this big open feild only a few minutes away from where i work, so on my break i just take my headphones with some shpongle, ott or ozric tentacles and go out in the middle of the feild and just sit there for a while.  Its very cool to sit facing the field, and not the city behind me, that way all i can see is grass and sky, helps me forget for a breif moment that im stuck in a concrete jungle.  there is a lot of sage growing out there too, so sometimes i will burn some sage and other herbs and do a little smudging.

exercise
woods
drinks (tea, coffee, alcohol)
musical escape with headphones
observing nature
sometimes driving

I wish I could get out more and hike/backpack/camp… I should also look into the kava (and akin) teas…

‘You are a slave, Neo…’ ... relax, escape, zone-out… its all a bit too ‘instinctually human’ for The System. I really do appreciate the idea of unsanity.

I pratice Yoga so a mix of:
Asana - posture
Pranayama - Breath control
Meditation

and a few other practices which come under Yoga which all help, also walks in nature, music…

You know, now that the question’s been asked, I realize that lately I do not “relax” all that much.  I mire myself in stressful thoughts.  Wow, that really sucks..   My most relaxing times lately are when I get drunk and fantasize my life’s in a better place or at least headed in a great direction (not good, LOL) or when I’m mindlessly watching my favorite shows, which have become more numerous than is good for the mind, I’m sure.  Hmmm, what did I used to do?  I suppose driving and zoning out to music—either stuff I could sing to or stuff I could get lost in—used to be one of my main outlets.  And occasionally these days I do a solitary hike or rollerblade good and far, but there hasn’t been as much of that as there should be.  Cooking is surely an outlet for me, too..  I need to find my center more readily, though.  I’ve been saying for a while I want to get back to yoga and want to get into Eastern-based meditation.  It’s second nature to me to get lost in thought and imagination but I’ve gotta direct much better, I think!!!  Thanks for a much needed reminder :D

I meditate,do belly-breathing (diaphragm breathing), listen to relaxing instrumental music, do sports/exercises like running, stretching, observe nature esp. in the woods. I’m thinking of starting doing some Yoga. Oh yeah, I also drink ethanol-based melissa extracts (available at every pharmacy I assume), which make me feel very relaxed and calm.

...and sex is also good for that purpose.

i will have to look into that controled breathing elecrobot, I practice circular breathing with the didgeridoo, and that is very relaxing.  That puts me into a meditative state very fast, and i get to make cool sounds while im doing it too.