Progressive Muscle Relaxation For Grounding & Stability

Progressive muscle relaxation meditation practice for creating grounding and stability in the body. Meditation scans into and around the entire body, offering a sense of ease from pain and disconnection, and a sense of connection to strength and resilience.

Transcript

Allowing yourself to be in a rested position. Allowing the body to feel supported. Beginning this progressive muscle relaxation. By first allowing the breath to move into the body, Taking an in-breath and an inhale. Taking the breath into the body and then exhaling out. We're going to start by noticing the head, The eyes, The nose, The mouth. First starting with the entire head. So tightening into the head, The face, The eyes, The nose, The mouth. Bringing tightness and tension into the head and then releasing out. Draw awareness into the mouth. Tightening the mouth, Tightening the teeth, The lips, The jaw, The entire mouth tight and tense and then releasing out. Tightening the nose, Squinting the nose and tightening the nose. And then releasing out. Drawing awareness into the eyes, The left eye and the right eye. Squeezing into the eye sockets. Tightness and tension in the eyes and then releasing that out. Noticing the forehead. Tightening the forehead as best you can and then releasing that out. Drawing awareness into the ears. The ears tight and tense and then releasing that out. Noticing the face again and this time seeing what it's like. Again prompting the face and the head to be tight and tense. The face, The head, The eyes, The eye sockets, The ears, The nose, The mouth, The jaw, The entire face tight and tense and then releasing it out. Draw awareness into the shoulders. The left shoulder, The right shoulder. Tightening both shoulders at the same time. Maybe drawing them into your ears as if they're tight and tense and then releasing it out. Noticing the left arm. The left arm. The left arm, The left hand, The left fingers. Drawing the left fingers into a fist. Tightening the left fingers in a fist and moving that tightness and tension all the way up the length of the entire left arm into the left shoulder. The right arm at ease. The left arm tight and tense and then release out. Noticing the right arm. The right arm, The right hand, The right fingers. Tightening the right fingers into a fist and moving that tightness and tension all the way up the length of the right arm into the right shoulder. The right arm tight and tense the left arm at ease and then release out. Awareness in the torso now. Noticing the front of the torso. The space of the chest, The heart, The lungs, The belly, The abdomen. Moving tightness and tension as best you can into the entire front plane of the torso. Noticing into the belly, The abdomen, The chest, The heart space. And then releasing out. Noticing the back plane of the torso. The spinal column, The upper back, The middle back, The lower back. As best you can, Tightening the back plane of the torso. Noticing the tightness and tension cradling around the spinal column and then releasing it out. Move awareness into the hips. The hips in the pelvic area. Tightening the left hip. Noticing the left buttock. The left hip, The left buttock, The right side of the pelvis tight and tense. The right side at ease. And then releasing out. Noticing the right side. The right hip. The right buttock. The right pelvic side. Tightening the right side. The left side at ease. And then releasing that out. Drawing awareness now into the legs, Begin noticing the left leg. The entire left leg from the top of the leg to the knee to the lower leg. The ankle, The heel, The sole of the foot and the toes. Curl in the left toes and move that curling and tightness and tension all the way from the toes to the foot to the ankle, Up the calf, Up the knee, Up the length of the left leg, The right side at ease. And then release out. Compare the two legs briefly. Then moving awareness into the right leg. The entire right leg, The top of the leg, The knee, The lower leg, The ankle, The heel, The sole of the foot, The toes. Curl in the right side of the toes. Curling and squeezing the right toes, The right foot, The right ankle, The right heel, The right calf, The right knee, All the way up the length of the right leg, The top of the leg, The right leg tight and tense, The left side at ease. And then releasing it out. Check in with the entire body. Noticing the left side of the body. We're going to begin to tighten only the left side of the body. The right side of the body will be at ease. Begin by curling in the left toes. The tightness moving from the left toes all the way up the length of the left leg, The left hip, The left buttock, Curling in the left hands, The left arm, The left side of the torso, The left side of the face, Jaw, Eyes, The left side of the body tight and tense. The right side at ease. And then release. Release. Release. Moving to the right side. Tightening the entire right side of the body, Moving the tightness from the right side of the toes, The legs, The right leg all the way up the right hip, The right fingers, The right torso, The right nose, Mouth, Eye, Jaw, The left side at ease. And when you're ready release. Release release release. We're going to do the whole body. Whole body taking in this tightness and tension. Curling in the toes, Tightness in the fist, The legs, The hips, The belly, Tightness in the chest, Tightness in the eyes, The face, The jaw, The entire body. When you're ready to release. Notice the difference between these two sensations. What the sensation of tightness felt like. The sensation of ease and release feels like. Notice these two different things you can offer to the body. The sense of tightness and tension, What it carries with it and how you feel it in the body, In different muscles and different places. And how by moving into this tightness and tension we have that opportunity thereafter to notice the ease that follows. As you check into and sense into the body in this moment, Notice if there is that tension anywhere else remaining on its own. If there's tension anywhere else in the body, Go there and then tighten in that area and the surrounding area. As you feel into the tightness, If it is somewhere, Asking it for what it needs. And then releasing out. Checking in with the body. Sensing and seeing if there's any aspect. Feeling a little bit more grounded, Connected into the earth. There's any different sense and solidity. Notice the state of the physical body. Notice the state of the mind in this moment. Seeing if you'd like to create an intention as you move out of this meditation practice and go about your daily life today. If there's an intention you can offer for yourself in this moment, If it might come to you in words, In pictures, In feelings, Noticing what it might be. Capturing this connection into the space of your heart, The space of your mind. As you begin to ease out of this meditation, Allowing a mindful breath to come into the body. Taking that in breath and letting it move into the body any place it needs to go. Releasing it out. Maybe one more time, A mindful breath into the body, Inviting it to go wherever it might need to go. And then releasing it out. Knowing that in every moment you're doing the very best you know how to do. If you're ready and if you wish, Allowing yourself to bring movement back into your fingers and your toes. Allowing the eyes to come back to a state of wide open awareness. Noticing where you've been. Noticing your intention for the rest of your day. Noticing what's present in your mind and your body in this moment.