One way to cultivate relaxation is through the practice of meditation. The practice of meditation has two elements: simplicity or peacefulness and insight, or clarity. The application of mindfulness allows us stop the world from spinning, by stopping the spinning of our own minds. This is the essence of the simplicity or peacefulness of shamatha. Then we can see the confusion. We can shine the light of vipassana,  or clear seeing, on confusion, and that brings the clarity of seeing things as they are. When we begin to see the situation as it is, and when we begin to see our own minds clearly, we diffuse the panic. From this experience we have in meditation, we may begin to see how we can relax on the spot in the midst of the most difficult experiences in our lives.

Carolyn Rose Gimian, Smile at Fear.