Release-Only And Cue-Controlled Relaxation

A 20-minute practice from Applied Relaxation - a course that teaches you how to relax quickly in stressful situations. This practice includes a gentle body scan - focusing on releasing tension in every part of the body - then moves to a short mantra and breathing exercise to make you feel more and more relaxed.

Transcript

Sitting nice and comfortably then and just making sure you're nice and relaxed in your body to start here and if it's comfortable to do so for you then close your eyes or otherwise just soften your gaze and beginning to become aware of your breathing so focusing on slowing down your breathing slightly seeing if you can form a nice steady rhythm of your chest and abdomen expanding outwards of each breath as if there's a balloon gently filling with air and beginning to match your breathing to the tempo of my voice so imagining your rib cage moving out to the sides when you inhale and your belly filling like a balloon and gently inwards as you exhale so taking a deep breath in and pausing for a moment and exhaling slowly letting the tension melt away as you relax more deeply with each breath continuing to breathe slowly and gently in this way slow comfortable breaths throughout the whole relaxation and remembering there's nothing you need to do or think about nowhere else you need to be we're just focusing on how your body feels as you take a deep breath in hold it for a moment and relax as you breathe out and now turning your attention to the top of your head and feel the relaxation beginning there at the top of your scalp and spreading slowly downwards your forehead becoming relaxed and smooth your temples relaxed feeling your eyebrows resting gently resting and even your ears are becoming relaxed and heavy relaxing your cheeks your nose nose and eyes feeling your eyelids becoming heavy and very relaxed more and more relaxed continuing to breathe deeply as we go through this practice so deep belly breaths filling your belly like a balloon and relaxing as you breathe out allowing your jaw to relax now by allowing your mouth to be slightly open with your lips apart if that's comfortable or gently touching if not and allowing your tongue to relax feeling your throat to relax and enjoying this feeling of relaxation you're experiencing now turning your attention to your neck and allowing the feeling of relaxation to begin at the top of your neck and flow downwards releasing as you go and feeling the relaxation as your shoulders become more relaxed and loose letting your shoulders gently sink downwards heavy very heavy and relaxed relaxing deeper and deeper into this practice and if you find your mind wandering at any point that's not a problem that's what minds do just noticing where it went and then gently bringing it back so that you're focusing only on how your body feels as you become more and more relaxed feeling your collarbones become relaxed as your shoulders move gently back and your chest widen slightly allowing all the muscles in your chest to feel smooth and relaxed as the muscles in your shoulders give up their hold completely and noticing your breath once again noticing how regular it has become continuing to take slow smooth deep breaths breathing in the feeling of relaxation and breathing out any tension your breathing allows you to become more and more relaxed now turning your attention to your right arm and feeling the relaxation flowing down your right shoulder allowing your upper arm to relax as it flows down your elbow and lower arm relaxing releasing and noticing your wrist becoming loose and relaxed and continuing to enjoy this feeling of relaxation enjoying the feeling of relaxation as all the muscles in your right arm give up their hold completely releasing feeling the relaxation flowing into your hand and letting all the tension drain out through your fingertips and flowing away and enjoying that sensation before bringing all of your attention to your left arm and noticing as relaxation flows down this arm allowing the muscles in your left upper arm to relax relaxing your elbow your lower arm and your wrist feeling loose feeling that relaxation flowing down your whole left arm and into your hand and letting the tension melt away imagining it flowing through and out your fingertips continuing the feeling of relaxation spreading through your body and enjoying this feeling of relaxation you're experiencing feeling both arms now totally relaxed and allowing them to be free and limp pleasantly relaxed and remembering there's nothing you need to be thinking about nothing you need to do other than to focus on how your body feels as you take a deep breath in hold for a moment and then relax as you breathe out and letting the feeling of deep relaxation continue to flow now spreading easily down your body to your chest and your stomach feeling the relaxation here softening releasing relaxation becoming deeper with each breath and now turning your attention to your upper back and feeling the relaxation flow down your spine letting all the muscles give up their hold relaxing your upper back your middle back and your lower back allowing your back to relax completely and feeling that relaxation in your whole upper body relaxing more deeply with each breath more and more relaxed deeply relaxed and calm and if you find your mind wandering that's no problem just gently bringing it back so that you're focusing on how your body feels as you become more and more relaxed letting your hip muscles relax now relaxing all the way from your buttocks down the back of your thighs and relaxing the muscles in the front of your thighs feeling the relaxation in your upper legs before moving down to your knees softening and relaxing your calves and shins allowing the relaxation to flow all the way to your ankles and your feet allowing all of the muscles here to relax and go limp and taking a moment to enjoy the feeling of your body becoming more and more relaxed noticing how smooth your muscles have become noticing the heaviness of your body and your slow and steady breathing enjoying this feeling and remembering how it feels to feel so relaxed and now each time you breathe in starting to think to yourself the words breathe in and pause just for a moment the top of your breath and then as you breathe out thinking the word relax so continuing this mantra as you focus on your slow deep breaths so breathe in hold hold relax breathe in relax breathe in relax breathe in relax breathe in relax feeling the relaxation flowing through your body from the top of your head down to the bottoms of your feet and allowing any last bits of tension to flow right out of the soles of your feet becoming more and more relaxed as you continue to breathe again focusing on this mantra breathe in relax and continuing to guide yourself with these words just silently in your head breathe in relax enjoying relaxing like this for a few more moments and when you're ready finishing the practice by reawakening your body through gentle movements so you can gently roll your shoulders backwards and then forward leaning your head gently to one side and then the other and then the other side perhaps wiggling your fingers and toes and when you're ready gently opening your eyes or refocusing your gaze

Reviews

Beautiful meditation with a range of techniques that build and work together. Thank you!