Progressive Relaxation Meditation

What we are going to do during this meditation is we take a muscle group, or a section of your body and we tighten all your muscles in that area, after that we release all the muscles in that area. And we do that 3x in a row.
What this does is, that it allows the muscles, tendons, and ligaments in that area to completely relax, and while you focus on that area of your body, you also let your mind relax.

Transcript

Hello, I'm Diana. Welcome to this progressive relaxation meditation. Before we get started with this meditation, I would like to start with a warning. When you struggle with muscle spasms or any medical condition along those lines, Please be very careful with this meditation. What we are going to do during this meditation is we take a muscle group or a section of your body and we tighten all your muscles in that area. After that, We release all the muscles in that area and we do that three times in a row. What this does is that it allows the muscles, Tendons and ligaments in that area to completely relax. And while you focus on that area of your body, You also let your mind relax. So please do be careful when you have any medical condition. Now begin by finding a place where you can be alone for the duration of this meditation. A place where you can put your device down and have some earphones in or on. A place where you can sit comfortably with your back supported and your feet flat on the floor. Or you can decide to put your feet up when you so desire. When you prefer to do so, You can also choose to lay down, But ideally in a place where you do not normally sleep, So that you can stay awake for the duration of this meditation. Make sure that you stay warm during this meditation. Maybe use a blanket to cover yourself when that's needed. Please relax as much as you can and let my voice guide you through this meditation. Gently close your eyes and start relaxing and noticing the present moment that you're experiencing right now. Feel your body. Be aware of your thoughts and notice your breath. Start paying attention to your breath. Continue to breathe in and out at a pace that feels comfortable to you. Feel how the cold air comes into your nose when you breathe in and the warm air leaves your nose when you breathe out. Relax your muscles as best as you can with every single breath in and every single breath out. Focus on relaxing and welcome the feelings of relaxation as you feel them happening. As you continue to breathe, Your body will continue to relax more and more during our time together. And when your thoughts wander off, Ideas or memories pop up during our time together, That's perfectly okay. Be thankful for the thought. The thought came up for a reason. It's trying to come in as a gift. Feel grateful for it and just go and gently bring your attention back and focus on your breathing. Acknowledge that it happened. Accept that that is what sometimes happens. Invite your mind to be present and be here. Invite your mind to receive. Receive more peace. Receive more happiness. Receive more clarity and receive more joy. Bring yourself back to concentrating on your breath, On breathing in and breathing out. Take a deep breath in through your nose. Inhale. Feel the air at the back of your throat going down into your lungs. Hold your breath. As you release and let the breath out, Feel it coming up from your lungs at the back of your throat, Going through your mouth as you let go. Take another deep breath in through your nose. Feel the cold air going in through your nose and feel your chest expand. Hold your breath. And when you're ready, Let go. Exhale. Feel the warm air going out of your mouth and feel your chest contracting. Take three more deep breaths and exhale at your own pace. And now we start with the progressive relaxation. We're going to start at your feet. Allow me to explain before doing what I ask you to do how this works. To start with, You're going to tense the muscles in your feet and your ankles, Curling your toes inwards to make a fist with your toes. Tense all the muscles you possibly can, But only in your feet. Not in the calves or your shins, Just in your feet. We're going to do that three times. We're going to tense everything, Hold for a count of four, And then relax. And we will be doing this for three times. So here we go. On my count. Three, Two, One. Tense. One, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Great. Well done. Ready. Here we go again. Tense your feet again. Three, Two, One. Tense. One, Two, Four. And relax. And then one more time. Here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Allow your feet to completely relax. Letting everything go. Allowing all your muscles and tendons to relax deeply and completely. And now we go up into the calf area and your shins. Again, Just focusing on tensing the muscles in those areas, Leaving the feet nice and relaxed, And not tensing the upper legs, Just tensing the calves and shins. So, On my count again. And we will again do this three times. Tensing and holding for four. And then releasing. On my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. One, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And here we go again. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And now one final time. Here we go again. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Letting everything in that area of your body relax. Allowing your calf muscles to completely relax. And now we are going to move up past the knees and to the thighs. The quadriceps at the top of your thighs and the hamstrings at the back of your thighs. Not moving up into the buttocks if you can. But that is sometimes hard when tensing the back of your thighs. So, If you can, Just try to tense the muscles at the top of your leg. The more you concentrate on it, The easier it will become. And again, We will do it on my count of three. And we are going to do this three times. Then holding it for a count of four. And then relax again. So, Here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. One, Two, Three. And relax. And again, On my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And one final time. Here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. Letting it all relax. Let the entirety of the top and the bottom of your thigh, Your quadriceps, Your hamstrings, All of it completely relax. And now we move to the buttocks and the hull of the pelvic area. This area requires focus as you can tense the buttocks. But you also need to tense the muscles around your hips and into the pelvis. But not your belly. That comes next. Just your buttocks, Your hips and your pelvic region. And as we've done before, We repeat it three times and we hold it for a count of three. And then relaxing. So, Here we go on my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And now for the second time on my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then one final time on my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. Two, Three, Four. And relax. Let everything go. Let it all go. Relax the buttocks, Relax the hips and relax your pelvic region. And next we are going to move into the belly. Just the belly. Not the lower back, Not the chest. Just the belly. Tense all the muscles in your belly. Pulling your belly button in as if you're pulling it towards your spine. Allowing all the muscles right up into your solar plexus. Right up in there to tense up. So again, We are going to do this three times and holding for a count of four each time. And then relaxing. So, Here we go again. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then the second time on my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then one final time on my count. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Letting everything in your belly go. Breathing out very deeply and letting all the muscles relax. And now we move around to your lower back. Please be cautious with this area. We tense all the muscles in our lower back from all the way down where the tailbone is, The coccyx, All the way up to the middle of the back around the waist area. Just focusing on those muscles. As always, I'm going to repeat it three times and hold for a count of four. So, Here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then the second time. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then the last time for this area. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Letting everything in your lower back go. Letting it fully relax. And now we go further upwards. We go to the upper part of your body. We're going to tense everything around your shoulder blades, Up into your shoulders, Down to your arms and across your chest. This takes extra focus to make sure that you're tensing every part. From making a fist with your hands and tightening your lower arms to tighten your upper arms and your shoulders and your chest and your upper back all together. This, Again as we've done before, We're going to do this three times. And then we will be holding it for a count of four and then relaxing. So here we go. The whole upper part of your body, From your chest to your upper arms, Down your arms, Your upper back and your shoulders and all the way completely to your fingers, Into your hands. Ready? Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And now for the second time. Here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Three, And relax. And then for the last time for this region, Three, Tense, Three, Four, And relax. Letting everything, All those muscles relax. You might even want to shake your arms out a little bit because that can be very relaxing and that way you get all the tension out of your shoulders and arms. And you let them flop to the sides and relax. And we're going to go back to the shoulders, But including the neck this time. So just tensing everything and bringing up your shoulders, Right up to your ears and tensing your neck. And please be careful again with this part of the exercise, Because for some people this may be a bit harder to do. So be careful with yourself. If you have any sort of pain, Be really gentle with yourself. So we're going to bring the shoulders up to the ears and then tensing the neck at the same time. We're going to do this three times again and then we relax after a count of four. So here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then for the second time. Three, Two, One. And tense. One, Three, Four. And relax. And then for the third and last time. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Letting everything in your neck and your shoulders relax. Shake your shoulders out a little so that they can completely relax. Just letting it flow so that everything is fully relaxed. And now we move on to your face. We're going to tense all the muscles in your face. Tensing your jaw, Gritting your jaw together so that it tenses. Squeezing your lips together. Pulling your cheeks up. Scrunching your forehead. Your eyes tightly closed. And as always, We will do this three times and hold for a count of four. So here we go. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then for the second time. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. And then the last time. Three, Two, One. And tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Letting your face totally relax. Letting your cheeks hang. Your mouth fall open a little bit so that it's all really relaxed. And then finally, We're going to tense the whole body right from the tips of your toes to the tip of your head. All of your muscle groups. All of them together. But we're only going to do this once. So we're going to hold for a count of four as always. And when we hit the count of four, We let all the muscles go and relax. Are you ready? On my count then. Three, Two, One. Tense. And one, Two, Three, Four. And relax. Letting everything go. Letting your whole body relax. All the muscles. All over. From your toes, To your legs, To your buttocks, To your lower back, Your belly, Your upper back, Your chest, Your shoulders, Your upper arms, Lower arms, Hands, Neck and face. Letting it all relax. When you feel ready, Start to gently come back to the here and now. Come back into the room, Into your body, Into your consciousness, Your awareness and into your mind. Take your space into the world. As you're coming back into the present moment, Let yourself explore and say yes to the emotions of peace and of relaxation. Know that you can decide to continue to feel this way. Take a deep breath and let go when you're ready. While keeping your eyes closed for a little bit longer, Notice the sounds around you. Notice how your body feels. Feel the surface you're sitting or lying on under your body. Feel the surface your feet are on. Feel your clothing on your body. Move your fingers a little. Wiggle your toes a little. Gently circle your shoulders. Gently move your head from side to side and become more and more present. Welcome joy, Peace and comfort to continue being with you on your path today and in the time to come. Take a deep breath and let go when you're ready. And when you are ready to do so, Gently open your eyes, Fully coming back to the present moment. Stay seated for a little bit more time. Look around the room and notice a few things around you. When you feel ready to do so, You can sit up, You can stand up and return to going about your day. Know that all the good that you've experienced will continue for the rest of the day and the time to come.