Progressive muscle relaxation is an exercise that reduces stress and anxiety in your body by having you slowly tense and then release each muscle.
This exercise can provide an immediate feeling of relaxation,
But it's best to practice it,
Because with practice,
You'll become more aware of when you're experiencing tension throughout your day,
And you'll have the skills to help you relax.
During this exercise,
I'm going to ask you to tense your muscles,
But please do this gently,
Not to the point of strain,
And if you have any injuries or pain,
You can skip the affected areas.
Okay,
Sitting comfortably or lying down,
Shutting your eyes if it's comfortable to do so,
Or otherwise keeping a nice soft gaze,
Beginning by taking a deep breath and noticing the feeling of air filling your lungs,
Holding your breath for a moment,
Then releasing the breath slowly and letting any tension leave your body as you breathe out.
Taking in another deep breath and holding it,
And again slowly releasing the air.
Even slower now,
Take another breath,
Fill your lungs,
And hold the air,
And slowly releasing the breath,
Imagining any feeling of tension leaving your body.
Now moving your attention to your feet,
Beginning to tense your feet by curling up your toes and the arch of each foot,
Holding on to the tension for a moment,
Noticing what it feels like,
Then releasing the tension in your feet,
Noticing the new feeling of relaxation.
Next,
Beginning to focus on your lower legs,
Tensing the muscles in your calves,
Holding them tightly and paying full attention to the feeling of tension,
And releasing the tension from your lower legs,
Again noticing the feeling of relaxation,
Remembering to take deep breaths as you go.
You might even want to sync your out breath with the releasing of tension.
Next,
Tense the muscles in your upper legs and your pelvis area.
You can do this by tightly squeezing your thighs together,
Making sure you feel tension,
But without the point of strain,
Again holding for a moment,
And releasing,
Feeling the tension leave your muscles.
Beginning now to tense your stomach and chest area.
You can do this by sucking your stomach in,
Squeezing a little harder,
And holding the tension,
A bit longer,
And releasing the tension,
Allowing your body to go limp,
And letting yourself notice the feeling of relaxation.
Next,
Tensing the muscles in your back by bringing your shoulders together behind you.
Hold them tightly together,
Tensing them as hard as you can without strain,
Keeping hold,
And releasing the tension from your back and shoulders,
Feeling the tension slowly leaving your body,
And the feeling of relaxation that comes as a result,
Noticing how different your body feels when you allow it to relax.
Moving to your shoulders now,
And tensing your shoulders by bringing them up towards your ears,
Holding,
And releasing,
Allowing tension to leave,
And relaxation to take its place.
Tensing your arms now,
Making a fist with your hands,
And squeezing all the way up your arm,
Holding this tension,
And releasing,
Noticing the feeling of relaxation in your fingers,
Hands,
And arms,
And noticing how your arms feel limp and at ease now.
Moving up to your neck and your head,
Tensing your face and your neck by distorting the muscles around your eyes and mouth,
Just gently,
And again holding,
Before releasing the tension,
Again noticing the new feeling of relaxation in your neck and head.
Finally,
Tensing your entire body,
Tensing your feet,
Legs,
Stomach,
Chest,
Arms,
Neck,
And head,
Tensing a little harder but without strain,
And releasing,
Allowing your whole body to go limp.
Let's do that one more time,
Tensing your feet,
Legs,
Stomach,
Chest,
Arms,
Neck,
And head,
Tensing a little harder,
And releasing,
And paying attention to the feeling of relaxation,
How different it feels from the feeling of tension.
Just noticing this for a moment,
Any sense of calm and relaxation in your body,
Before gently wiggling your fingers and toes,
Perhaps stretching a little,
And when you're ready,
Opening your eyes or refocusing your gaze.
