Welcome.
This is Julie with Soul Science.
This meditation is for letting go of tension using progressive muscle relaxation.
So I'll guide you through tensing certain muscle groups and then relaxing those areas.
Please note,
If you have pain or discomfort in any of the areas that we cover,
You can just imagine the contraction of the muscles.
Please don't push your body to participate.
So let's begin by connecting with the breath.
And if you haven't already,
You can gently close your eyes and rest your hands either on your lap or on the floor beside you.
And take a deep breath in and exhale.
And just notice how the body feels before we begin.
And another deep inhale.
And on the next exhale,
Just land your attention in the feet and rest it there for a moment.
So we're going to do a quick body scan.
Our intention is to place our focus in different areas of our body.
And we're just checking in to see how our body is feeling.
So let's start by scanning the feet for any sensations.
And moving up through the legs.
And up through the torso.
Just observing any sensations.
And up through the shoulders.
And notice the areas in your face and how they're feeling.
Let's begin now with the feet.
And curl those toes downwards away from the knees,
Tensing the muscles in the feet.
And take some deep breaths in and out,
Feeling a little bit of resistance as we curl the toes under.
And continue breathing and connect to that sensation.
And on the next exhale,
Just let go.
Let those muscles relax.
Relax in the feet,
The areas around the toes.
And soften.
Relax and release.
And moving to the lower leg and the feet,
Let's draw the toes back towards the knees.
And feel into the muscles around the ankles,
The Achilles,
And even the muscles of the calves and the shins.
And pull those feet up towards your nose.
Feel the lower legs pulling.
Feel a little bit of tension.
And connect to that sensation.
And let's take a deep breath in.
And on the exhale,
Just let the feet relax.
Let the toes drift away from the knees,
From the shins,
And feel those changes throughout the area.
And moving to the thighs,
We squeeze those thigh muscles.
And feel that area getting a little tighter,
A little bit more tense.
And taking a deep breath in.
And on the exhale,
Letting those muscles in the legs soften.
The entire legs,
From the hips to the soles of the feet,
Are relaxed.
And moving our awareness now into the buttocks.
Gently squeezing the gluteals together.
Taking some deep breaths in and out.
And feeling that sensation in the lower body.
And on your next exhale,
Just letting those muscles soften.
Let the pelvis release and the lower back.
And connect to those different sensations for a moment or two.
And moving now to the hands,
With the palms facing up.
Let's draw the fingers and the thumbs in towards each other.
And create gentle fists.
Nothing too strong.
Just enough to feel tightness through the hands,
Through the palms,
And through the fingers.
And take some deep breaths in and out.
And feel the muscles in the hands.
Feel the tightness.
Where do you feel it most?
And on your next exhale,
Just allow the hands to fully unfold.
Open and release.
And notice now how do the muscles feel around the fingers?
Across the palms.
And across the back of the hands.
Are you able to fully and completely let them open and release?
And moving up to the shoulders now,
We draw the shoulders up towards our ears.
And take some deep breaths and notice where you feel this.
And on your next exhale,
Just gently let go.
You can imagine the shoulders melting,
Softening,
Moving far away from the ears.
The neck feeling longer.
And notice again now,
How do those muscles feel?
What's the difference between the two hands?
And moving now to the eyes,
Let's squeeze the eyes even more shut.
And really feel that sensation.
All of the muscles through the eyelids,
Under the eyes,
Around the eyes,
All tightening up.
And just make sure you're taking some deep breaths.
And notice how that changes the sensations around the temples,
Through the cheeks,
Across the forehead,
Around the eyebrows.
And just stay with that tension for a moment.
And on your next exhale,
Just relax the muscles,
But don't open the eyes just yet.
Just let them be soft and closed.
And really connect to the sensations of the muscles around the eyes.
And deep in the eye socket,
Through the temples,
Across the eyebrows,
And into the cheeks.
And take a moment to connect to all of your face muscles.
Imagine them as smooth as silk,
Soft,
No worries.
And deep breath in and exhale.
And just let that soft,
Smooth sensation move through the entire head,
Around the sides of the head,
Around the ears,
Into the back of the head,
And up into the scalp.
Let's take some deep breaths now.
And on the breath in,
Imagine the air coming in through the soles of your feet and sweeping all the way up to the crown of the head.
And now from the crown of the head,
Coming back down through the body,
Let the breath take any last sensations of tension through the soles of the feet,
Away from the body and into the earth.
Your body is relaxed,
Your mind is cleared,
And you can go back into your day rejuvenated and energized.
And when you're ready,
You can gently open your eyes.
And thank you so much for meditating with me today.
