Begin by finding a comfortable and quiet place where you can lie down,
In your bed,
On a yoga mat,
On the sofa,
Without any distractions.
Softly close your eyes and take a few deep,
Slow breaths.
For this progressive muscle relaxation,
We will work with tense and release.
Engaging and then relaxing each muscle group.
Sending your awareness to your toes.
Focus your attention on your toes and tense the muscles in this area.
Hold this engagement for a few seconds.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
And when you exhale through your nose,
Relax your toes.
Focus your attention on your feet.
Tense the muscles in your feet.
Hold this tension for a few seconds.
Take a deep breath in.
And with the exhalation,
Relax your feet.
Moving to your ankles.
Tense the muscles in your ankles.
Holding for a few seconds.
Deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Relaxing completely.
Shifting your attention to your calf muscles.
Engaging your calf muscles.
Holding for a few seconds.
Take a deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Relax completely the calf muscles.
Moving your awareness to the muscle group at the knees.
Engaging the knees completely.
Lifting the kneecaps up.
Hold for a few seconds.
Deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Releasing it completely.
Relaxing the knees.
Shifting your awareness to your thighs and glutes.
Engaging the upper leg muscle group.
Holding for a few seconds.
Deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Relaxing completely.
Moving up to your abdominals.
Engaging the abdominal muscles.
Drawing the tummy button in towards the spine.
Hold for a few seconds.
Deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Release and relax completely.
Moving to the sides of the body and the back body.
Engaging the oblique muscles.
The lower back muscles.
Upper back muscles.
Deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Completely relax.
Taking your awareness to your fingers and hands.
Squeezing your hands into fists.
Hold this tension for a few seconds.
And relax,
Release completely.
Moving up to the forearms and upper arms.
Engaging all the muscles in the arms.
Deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Relax.
Moving up to your shoulders and clavicle area.
Engaging the muscle group at the top of the back.
Around the shoulders and the collarbones.
Perhaps feeling the shoulders lift slightly.
Take a deep breath in.
And the exhale,
Relax and release completely.
Moving to the neck and throat.
Sensing this muscle group very gently.
Feeling an engagement in the neck muscles.
Holding for a few seconds.
And exhaling completely.
Relaxing the neck.
Lastly,
Moving to the face muscles.
Starting with the lower face.
Engaging the jaw and the lips.
Feeling the tongue also engage in that muscle group.
Take a deep breath in.
And release the lower face muscles.
The upper face muscles around the eyes,
The eyebrows and the forehead.
Engaging this muscle group.
Hold for a few seconds.
Take a deep breath in.
And release completely.
Relaxing the forehead,
The eyebrows and the eyes.
Coming to complete stillness.
Feeling the relaxation flow through your body.
Each muscle group completely relaxed.
The body is still and quiet.
Breathing deeply and slowly.
Imagine your organs relaxing.
Your nervous system relaxing.
Visualise any stress or emotional tension leaving your body with each exhale.
Any thoughts that may enter this temple of relaxation.
Greet them gracefully as you would a visitor.
And then allow them to leave your body with the exhalations of breath.
The whole body completely relaxed.
Take a few deep intentional breaths.
And enjoy this feeling of relaxation.
In your stillness,
Take a moment to appreciate your body and the amazing things it has done and it can do.
Remember you can always come back to this meditation anytime you need to relax and release tension from your body.
Giving yourself the rest and pause that you deserve.
Feel free to stay lying down if you want to continue relaxing or perhaps drift off to sleep.
If you feel ready to move out,
Take it really slowly.
Start with a few deep breaths.
Bringing some movement to your fingers and toes.
Your wrists and your ankles.
And taking as much time as you need.
Transitioning onto the side of the body.
Just having a few breaths inside lying.
And then slowly keeping your eyes closed with helping hands coming up to a comfortable seated position.
Gently taking your hands over your eyes.
Enjoying this moment in the darkness behind the palms.
Blinking your eyes a few times.
And then allowing them to open behind the hands.
Adjusting to any light as you slowly remove the palms from the face.
Taking a few more deep breaths to settle back into your surroundings.
And carrying this feeling of relaxation with you as you continue your day.
This practice is now complete.
