Choose a chair with a comfortable seat and a backrest. Playing music is relaxing, but not if you have aches and pains the whole time. Playing piano is especially strenuous for your back, because you must sit up straight the whole time.
Sit down at the piano and clear your head. To relieve tension, you must shift focus away from the other things going on in your life. Take this time to truly enjoy playing music. Allow yourself to be fully immersed.
Choose a favorite piece of music that you know you can play and enjoy. Play it through, without stopping to correct any of your mistakes. Interpret the music as you see fit, adding dynamics and emotion to the piece. Thinking about the music in this way will help you immerse yourself in it more fully.
Put away the music and improvise. Choose a key and play whatever sounds good to you. You don’t have to play chords if you don’t want to. Creating music without any pressure or constraints may help relieve your tension.
Play only on the black keys. The black keys make up several pentatonic scales, which are commonly used in Chinese and Mongolian music. The beauty of playing on these keys is that anything you play will sound exotic, relaxing and beautiful.
Don’t stretch yourself. You are playing to relieve stress and tension, not to improve. Don’t play anything you can’t already play well, and don’t pick at any mistakes. Once you are satisfied with what you have done, stop.