Progressive Relaxation
A guided progressive muscle relaxation exercise to support you in releasing tension in the body and the mind. This practice involves moving awareness through the body and gently contracting and releasing the muscles with the breath.
Transcript
Welcome to this progressive muscle relaxation exercise,
Where we will move awareness through the body,
Gently contracting and releasing the muscles with the breath to help you release tension in the body and the mind.
Go ahead and make your way towards a comfortable position.
You can be seated or lying down,
And then allow your gaze to soften,
Or perhaps letting your eyes close all the way.
As you settle in,
You might take a moment to remind yourself of your motivation,
Remembering that this is an opportunity to consciously relax your body and allow your mind to go with it.
And let's begin by bringing the attention down to the feet,
Maybe even moving the feet,
The toes a little bit,
Feeling what they are like at the moment.
And then as you inhale,
Contract all the little muscles in the feet and the toes,
Feeling the difference that makes.
And then as you exhale,
Slowly let them go.
Feel the muscles softening,
Loosening,
Releasing,
Just simply letting go.
Now taking your attention up to the calves.
In your mind,
You might move your attention through the calves,
Noticing any sensations that come to your awareness.
Maybe they feel warm or cool or neutral.
Maybe there are sensations on the skin,
Like the touch of clothing or a gentle flow of air.
Maybe sensations deeper into the calves.
Just noticing,
Like a gentle curiosity,
Free of judgment,
Free of reaction or analysis.
Simply noticing and feeling the calves.
Now as you inhale,
Contract the muscles,
Feel the difference that makes.
And then as you exhale,
Let them go.
Feel the muscles softening,
Loosening,
Releasing,
Simply letting go.
Now moving the awareness to the thighs,
Noticing how they are feeling,
What sorts of sensations are present.
And on your next in-breath,
Go ahead and contract the muscles of the thighs.
And then as you exhale,
Let them go.
Perhaps feeling a wave of relaxation move all through the thighs,
Down the calves,
Into the feet,
Feeling it deeply and completely.
Bringing the awareness now to sensations in the glutes,
The seat.
Perhaps as you inhale,
Contracting the muscles of the glutes,
Perhaps lifting the body up off the chair or the floor.
And then as you exhale,
Letting the muscles go,
Feeling the weight settle down once again.
Feeling all around the hips and through the pelvis.
Maybe imagining there is a belt or a band around the hips that is slowly being loosened,
Bit by bit,
Going with it and continuing to let go.
Now bringing the awareness up to the stomach,
The abdomen area,
Noticing sensations here.
And as you inhale,
Contract the muscles in the front of the belly and in the lower back.
And then as you exhale,
Slowly let them go,
Feeling a wave of softening move all through the stomach,
The lower back.
Calm and relaxed,
Going with it,
As you simply let go.
And as we move our awareness through the body in this way,
You might notice times when your attention wanders.
And if you do find yourself distracted or caught up in thinking,
See if you can gently bring your attention back to your body once again,
Beginning again.
Now moving the awareness to the area of the chest,
Feeling sensations here in the upper part of the torso.
And as you breathe in,
Contract the muscles of the chest and upper back,
Tight like a barrel.
And as you exhale,
Slowly let them go.
Allowing the breath to take up whatever rhythm feels comfortable for you,
Effortlessly,
Effortlessly,
Letting go.
Letting the awareness move into the arms now,
Contracting the muscles of the hands,
The arms,
As you breathe in.
And as you exhale,
Slowly letting them go,
Perhaps feeling a wave of relaxation and ease flowing down through the arms.
Letting the upper arms soften and loosen,
The elbows and the forearms relax and release.
And then feeling the wrists,
The hands,
The fingers soften.
Maybe even noticing what feels like a warmth or a tingling flowing down into the hands and the fingers.
If you notice a feeling of lightness,
See if you can go with it,
Continuing to let go.
Now bringing the awareness into the shoulder joints,
And see if you can contract the muscles by pulling the shoulders up,
The chin down,
As you breathe in.
And as you exhale,
Letting go,
Slowly,
Easefully,
Feeling the shoulders drop a bit,
Feeling a softening deeply and completely.
Even letting the neck and the throat relax more and more,
Deeper and deeper,
Simply letting go.
Now let's bring the attention to the area of the jaw,
Noticing sensations here.
And as you breathe in,
Perhaps contracting the muscles of the jaw,
By closing the jaw firmly,
And then as you exhale,
Letting the muscles go,
Feeling the jaw drop a bit,
The tongue resting soft and loose,
Feeling a wave of relaxation flow through the jaw and all around the mouth.
Going with this softening,
Even feeling the nose and the cheeks relax and release.
Now inviting the awareness to flow into the area of the eyes,
Becoming aware of sensations around the eyes.
And on your next breath in,
Contracting the muscles,
Closing the eyes firmly,
And as you exhale,
Slowly letting go,
Feeling the eyelids smoothing out,
Feeling relaxation flow deeply all through the eyes,
Almost like the eyes could be floating in their sockets.
Just going with it,
Letting the temples be soft and loose,
Feeling a release around the ears,
A softening around the back of the head and up over the top of the head.
Breathing and resting here,
Calm and relaxed.
Going with this feeling of release,
Calm and relaxed.
Now bringing awareness to sensations in the forehead,
And as you breathe in,
Perhaps contracting the muscles of the forehead by furrowing the brow a bit,
And then as you exhale,
Letting the muscles go,
Feel the forehead smoothing out,
Feel it deeply,
Completely.
A sense of ease washing over the body,
The mind,
Going with it more and more,
Deeper and deeper,
Simply letting go.
And perhaps feeling the whole body now at ease and resting,
Supported by the surfaces beneath you.
And with each exhale,
Notice what you can continue to let go of.
Feeling a sense of effortless ease and softening,
Letting go with each exhale.
And as you sense into your softening,
Relaxing body and mind,
Perhaps connecting with the fact that this is your true nature.
As an ancient Chinese proverb says,
Tension is who you think you should be.
Relaxation is who you really are.
Tension is who you think you should be.
Relaxation is who you really are.
Perhaps finding a few more conscious breaths and always feeling free to rest quietly here as long as you choose.
Resting the awareness with the breath and the body,
Enjoying this state,
Your true nature of relaxation and ease.
Whenever you're ready to complete the practice,
You can start to bring some small movements and stretches back into the body.
Raise the gaze or open the eyes and start to bring the visual attention back into the space around you.
Wishing for you that you can carry this feeling of ease and relaxation into the rest of your day.
Please consider coming back to this recording often to bring greater ease to your central nervous system and support your balance and your wellness.
And remember,
Tension is who you think you should be.
Relaxation is who you really are.
Thanks so much for your practice of progressive relaxation and I look forward to meditating with you again soon.
Take care.
