Hello,
This is Catherine Cook-Coutone,
Author of Embodiment and the Treatment of Eating Disorders,
The Body as a Resource in Recovery.
I'll be reading from script 10.
1,
Progressive Muscle Relaxation.
Find a comfortable position while sitting or lying down in a room or location in which you know you will not be interrupted.
If you'd like,
You can soften your gaze or close your eyes.
Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out,
Extending your exhalation if you breathe in.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Consider breathing out one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
And then simply continue breathing.
As you breathe,
Bring your awareness to your body.
If you notice your thoughts and they're beginning to wander or you notice distractions,
Simply bring your awareness back to your body.
Breathe here,
Holding your whole body in your awareness.
Now,
Bring your awareness just to your breath and take a big deep belly breath in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And then hold here for one,
Two,
Three,
And then exhale very slowly.
Repeat this cycle for four cycles of breathing,
Noticing your belly rising and falling with your breath.
If it helps,
Place your hands on your belly and increase your awareness of and attention to the movement of your belly as you breathe.
Breathing in one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Holding one,
Two,
Three.
Inhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
Inhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Holding one,
Two,
Three.
Exhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
Inhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Holding one,
Two,
Three.
Exhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
One more breathing in.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Holding one,
Two,
Three,
And exhaling one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
Each time you inhale,
Imagine your breath is nourishing your body.
And each time you exhale,
Imagine that you were able to release just a little bit of tension as it flows out of your body with your breath.
Continue your breathing,
Nourishing inhales,
Cleansing exhales.
Angle of tension.
Now beginning with your feet,
Curl your toes under,
Engaging the muscles of your feet.
Squeeze and hold.
Good.
Remember to continue breathing as you're engaging your feet,
Noticing the sensation of holding,
Feeling the tension of your feet,
Holding and squeezing,
Holding your feet and not your breath for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
And on your exhale,
Release your feet and notice the sensation in your feet as you breathe now.
Good.
Now,
Flex your feet,
Pulling your toes toward your shins,
Engaging your calves,
Feel the tension in your lower legs.
Hold for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And on an exhale,
Release.
Notice the sensations in your lower legs as you release and breathe here.
Just notice.
Yeah.
Good.
Engage your thighs by pressing your knees toward each other,
Holding,
Squeezing,
Breathing for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five,
And on an exhale,
Release.
Notice the sensations in your upper legs as you release and breathe here.
Now,
Tighten the area around your sitting bones,
Hugging the muscles in toward your bones,
Holding,
Squeezing,
Contracting for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And on your next exhale,
Release.
And notice the sensations in and around your sitting bones.
Notice the sensation of release as you breathe.
Next,
Bring your awareness to your belly,
To your stomach,
And engage your core.
Draw your ribs toward your hips while breathing,
Engaging,
Contracting,
And holding for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five,
And on an exhale,
Release your belly.
Notice the sensations in your belly as you breathe.
Good.
Now tighten your chest by taking a big inhalation into your chest,
Holding for about five seconds.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Five,
And exhale and release.
Imagine you are letting tension go with your exhale.
Breathing here.
Next,
Engage your upper back by drawing your shoulder blades toward each other.
See if you can make your shoulder blades touch and then contracting and holding for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five,
And on your next exhale,
Release,
Letting go all of the tension.
Breathing here,
Noticing what you notice.
Next,
Lift your shoulders up to your ears,
Engaging the muscles of your shoulders and neck.
Squeeze here,
Hold here,
Breathing here for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five,
And on your next exhalation,
Release,
Letting go of any tension.
Breathing here and noticing.
Next,
Engage your triceps by extending out through your arms and engaging the muscles to lock your elbows.
Hold here,
Breathing for five,
Four,
Three,
Two,
And one.
Release your arms and breathe.
Then,
Breathing here and noticing here.
Now,
Engage your biceps by flexing them.
Continue to breathe as you hold for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Squeeze,
Five,
And then on an exhale,
Release and allow the muscles to relax.
Breathing here and noticing.
Next,
Tightly clench your fists,
Drawing your hands in toward your forearms,
Engaging your lower arms.
Hold here and breathe for five seconds.
One,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
Squeeze,
Notice the tension and be with it.
On an exhale,
Release.
Breathing here and noticing.
Now,
Roll your head back and look up to the ceiling,
Engaging the muscles of the neck.
If you're on the floor,
You can press your head into the floor.
Be sure not to strain,
Just engaging and noticing the tension.
Holding for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
Your next exhale,
Release and notice the tension melt as your head and neck rest.
Breathing here and noticing.
Now,
Engage your face.
Begin with your jaw,
Clenching your teeth.
Add a big smile,
Drawing the edges of your lips up to your eyes.
Squeeze your eyes,
Close and tense your eyes.
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Tense your forehead.
Hold for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And five.
Exhaling and releasing.
Now,
Imagine a rolling wave of relaxation,
Moving from your head,
Flowing all the way down to your feet as you inhale.
And as you exhale,
Imagine a wave rolling all the way back up to your head.
Breathing in relaxation to the feet and breathing out relaxation from your feet to your head.
Breathe here.
As you are ready,
Slowly bring your awareness back to your breath for a few breath cycles.
The nourishing inhalations and the releasing exhalations.
When you are ready,
Slowly return your gaze to an object in the room and anchor it there and then broadly,
Slowly broaden your gaze to the room.
If you'd like,
You might offer gratitude for your body and breath for this practice.
And I thank you for practicing.
