Growing scientific evidence, clinical experience and community attitudes are encouraging a shift to more natural and holistic forms of therapy as alternatives or adjuncts to pharmacological approaches to a variety of conditions. Meditation and relaxation exercises have a wide range of applications but are especially useful in treating stress and related disorders. They are easily adapted to the general practice setting by adequately trained practitioners who have first hand experience of them. In this short article the practical and experiential aspects of such exercises are examined which, combined with examining the scientific evidence, provide a much more complete understanding of their potential uses and therapeutic effects.