Conway's Preliminary Relaxation

Conway gives relaxation as a deliberate, ordered drill. Faithful reconstruction:

1. Pick a quiet, comfortable place and lie down (or sit) at ease. Loosen tight clothing; choose somewhere you won’t be disturbed. Lying down is ideal for full release, provided you can stay awake.
2. Begin the breath settling. Let the breathing slow into a gentle, even rhythm (his Moon Breathing) — calm breath and relaxation work together.
3. Move through the body part by part, in order. Take the body in sequence — Conway has you work systematically through the limbs, torso, neck, and face (commonly feet upward, or head downward), attending to one region at a time.
4. Release the tension in each part. At each region, notice any tightness and deliberately let it go, allowing the muscles to fall slack and heavy. (Many practitioners briefly tense then release each group to feel the contrast; Conway’s emphasis is on the letting go until the part feels loose and weighted.)
5. Cover the whole body, including the face. Don’t stop at the limbs — the jaw, brow, eyes, and scalp hold tension that disrupts concentration. Soften them last.
6. Sink into stillness, but stay awake. The aim is the “body asleep, mind awake” state: the body utterly relaxed and heavy, while attention stays clear and alert. This relaxed-but-wakeful condition is the doorway Conway wants.
7. Rest there, then proceed. Once the body is quiet and the mind clear, move directly into the next discipline — concentration, visualization, or ritual — carrying the calm forward. (Sourcing note: Conway prescribes progressive bodily relaxation, paired with rhythmic breathing, as preparation before visualization in Magic: An Occult Primer. The systematic part-by-part release and the relaxed-yet-alert target are faithfully described; the optional tense-then-release refinement is a standard progressive-relaxation aid noted as such. Exact wording is in the book.)

Magic: An Occult Primer (David Conway, 1972) became a landmark practical occult manual of the modern revival. Its relaxation step sits in the same lineage as the Golden Dawn and Dion Fortune / Israel Regardie preparations for skrying and ritual, and it parallels — and roughly coincides with the popularisation of — Edmund Jacobson’s progressive muscular relaxation (1930s onward) and the relaxation foundations of self-hypnosis and autogenic training. →David Conway.

Jacobson’s Progressive Muscular Relaxation — the clinical, evidence-based form: tense-and-release each muscle group in sequence. The near-identical secular cousin.

• Yoga nidra / śavāsana — lying body-scan relaxation into a “yogic sleep” that is relaxed yet aware — very close to Conway’s “body asleep, mind awake.”
• Self-hypnosis & autogenic training — relaxation as the gateway to a suggestible/receptive state. → (lineage).
• Mindfulness body scan — sequential attention through the body, releasing tension.
• Conway’s own Moon Breathing and visualization — the practices this relaxation prepares.

Rushing it. Skipping regions or hurrying leaves residual tension that sabotages the later imagery work. Move slowly and thoroughly.

• Falling asleep. Lying down plus deep relaxation invites sleep; if that’s a problem, sit semi-upright or keep attention lightly engaged on each region. The target is awake.
• Forgetting the face and jaw. These hold the tension that most disrupts concentration — relax them deliberately.
• Trying to relax by force. Relaxation is allowed, not commanded; straining to relax is self-defeating. Let go rather than push.
• Treating it as optional. In Conway’s system it’s the prerequisite, not a nicety — an agitated body makes stable visualization impossible.