We are sitting out on the front porch, and Xander was getting excited by the birds outside, dogs and people walking by, neighbors chatting, etc. We brought out his raised platform (which he now jumps right onto!). We didn't tell him to sit or lie down, though we had to remind him to "liegen" (go to his mat) a couple times when he got too excited and got off. Within a few minutes he started to calm down; his whole body relaxed. You can see his arousal in the first couple photos (though he had already started to calm down). But then he totally relaxed, lay down, and went to sleep. They don't call it the "Zen mat" for nothing!