Progressive Muscle Relaxation Meditation

Quickly shift out of anxiety by moving your awareness from racing thoughts into calming body sensations. Deep, mindful breathing, targeted body relaxation, and gratitude will guide you to peace and presence.

Transcript

So in this meditation we're going to use a somatic technique which is a progressive muscle relaxation exercise.

Anxiety is often trapped in our thoughts but also in the body and the fastest way to shift that anxiety especially in a state of stress and worry is to get out of the mind and into the body.

We're going to do this by softening the muscles,

Releasing any tension,

Therefore releasing any emotion.

Where we're going to do this is by getting you to breathe deep,

Slow,

Controlled,

Feeling the sensations of the breath,

Of the rise and fall of the belly and chest but then moving the attention through each part of the body to relax.

By the end of this you should leave feeling calm,

Relaxed,

Ready to focus on what you need to focus on.

What I want you to do now is to take a nice deep breath in,

Filling up the belly like a balloon and filling up the chest and releasing with a big sigh in three two one,

Taking another deep breath in,

Releasing with a big sigh in three two one,

Take one more deep breath in and as you release drop the shoulders,

Feel the body relax as you sigh in three two one and gently close the eyes at the same time.

I want you to move your attention to the breath,

Don't try to control it just pay attention to what it feels like.

It comes in through the nose and out through the nose.

Keep it nice and deep filling up the belly then filling up the chest and then releasing.

Remember we're not controlling it we're just observing the breath.

Have a body scan,

Feel around to see anywhere that feels tense.

With every exhale do your best to relax shoulders and the body.

Now I want you to move your attention down to your toes.

See if you can feel any tingling sensations,

Any warmth,

Any vibrations just around the tips of your toes.

See if you can move that sensation in through the feet,

Put it in the ball of the foot and in the heel.

Just play around with the energy for a second,

Come truly present with the feelings and move your attention up to the back of your calf muscle.

Feeling those calves tingling,

Vibrating,

A bit of warmth.

If you're wearing trousers or a dress,

See if you can feel where the skin touches the clothing or if you're sitting down see if you can feel where the ground comes into contact or whatever you're sitting on it comes into contact with the body.

Feel those sensations and then move your attention in behind your kneecap,

The back of the knee,

In that really sensitive area.

See if you can feel any vibrations,

Tingling sensations or warmth in that space.

Now I want you to move your attention up to your quad,

Top of your legs.

See if you can feel the clothing that's coming in contact with the skin,

Feel the textures of the clothing and feel the vibrations,

Tingling sensations just moving around the leg.

Remembering with every exhale to relax the body deeper into the relaxation.

If the mind wanders,

Bring it back to the sensations of the tingling or bring it back to the breath,

But ultimately bringing it back to the muscle group we're focusing on.

Now move the sensations and your attention into the backs of your legs,

Up your hamstrings.

See if you can feel that tingling or vibration.

Feel the chair or whatever you're sitting on coming into contact with you at the back of your legs.

Now move your attention over your butt and into your lower back.

See if you can feel the sensations of the chair,

The back of the chair.

If you're sitting upright then see if you can feel the sensations of the clothing touching the skin on your back.

Again feel those tingling sensations,

Those vibrations,

The warmth.

Now move that sensation up to the middle back.

See if you can feel that any vibrations are tingling around the center of the spine.

Really focus on those feelings.

Just continuing to breathe,

Not controlling the breath.

Relaxing deeper with every exhale and moving your attention up to the top of the back and over the shoulders.

See if you can feel any tingling sensations where the clothing may be touching your shoulders,

Running across the center of your upper back,

Connecting left and right.

See if they feel tense and need to be dropped.

By continuing to relax with every exhale,

Move the attention down the arms and into your fingertips.

Relaxing the fingertip.

Feeling those vibrations and tingling sensations in the tips of the fingers and in the hands.

You may even feel your hands getting warm.

See if you could intensify that feeling.

Allow sensations to grow.

Moving your attention up your arm,

Into your forearms,

Relaxing the body but also feeling for those sensations again.

Now moving your attention up to your face,

Feeling if your jaw is cleansed.

Make it relax.

Relaxing the tongue.

Feeling around to see if your eyes are squinting.

Just relax your eyes.

Just relax your eyes.

Deep breath in,

Filling up the belly,

Filling up the chest and relaxing the body with the exhale.

Moving your attention up to your crown,

Right on the top of your head,

Feeling for those tingling sensations,

Vibrations,

Warmth.

Feeling the strength of that connection.

Those vibrations and tingling sensations that you're feeling are your connection to source.

The collective consciousness that surrounds us.

Now see if you can move that sensation down your spine.

Ask yourself the question where the thoughts come from.

Our thoughts are all around us.

Anything that ever exists and will exist is in the space that surrounds us.

The fourth dimension.

A connection to source through the crown,

Through those tingling sensations.

Take a deep breath in and then relax deeper with a sigh.

Take a deep breath in and relax with a sigh.

Now I want you to sit in silence for a few moments.

If you find the mind wandering,

Bring it back to the sensations of the breath.

Bring it back to the sensations of the body.

Just relax anywhere that feels tense.

You could also use a mantra which is Samma Arahang.

When you breath in you go Samma.

When you breath out you go Arahang.

Just keep repeating this to yourself.

It means purify the mind.

I'm going to let you sit here.

Let's meditate to a presence of the time being.

You have nowhere to be.

Right here,

Right now.

Samma Arahang.

Samma Arahang.

Samma Arahang.

Bring your attention back to the breath and into the body.

Slowly begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes.

Start taking in the sounds that are around you.

Not attaching to the sounds.

Just notice what is there.

We're going to take a collective breath in.

In three,

Two,

One.

All the way in and releasing with a sigh in three,

Two,

One.

Take another breath in.

Making the sigh even louder in three,

Two,

One.

Now bring a gentle smile to your face.

Giving gratitude for yourself for showing up.

For this moment to be present in the body.

Come back to this practice whenever you feel the need to relax,

To get out of the mind.

The more often you practice,

The more often you sit with yourself in silence and practice removing the tension from the mind into the body.

The more this will benefit you through your day-to-day life.

Now give yourself a hug,

Bring your hands into the prayer position.

Gently cupping a lotus flower in between.

Say three things you're grateful for,

Either internally or externally.

And take a deep breath in and relax.

With the exhale,

Then open your eyes gently.

And have an amazing day,

Have an amazing afternoon.

And I'll see you next time.