In this exercise,
I'll be guiding you through progressive muscle relaxation,
Which involves tensing and relaxing different muscle groups.
Practicing this technique daily has been found to reduce stress and anxiety,
Improve sleep,
And alleviate many forms of chronic pain.
During this exercise,
It's important that you do tense your muscles but not to the point of strain.
So if you have any pain or injury that you're working with,
Please be gentle and know that it's okay to skip those areas.
So let's begin by getting really comfortable.
You want to make sure you feel supported.
You can be sitting up,
Reclining,
Or lying down completely.
But the goal here is to make the body completely comfortable.
Now you can close your eyes if that feels comfortable for you.
And we'll take a few deep breaths together to further settle the body and prepare ourselves for this practice.
So take a deep breath in and notice the feeling of air filling your lungs.
Hold your breath for a few seconds here.
And release the breath slowly,
Letting the tension leave your body.
Now take in another deep breath and hold it at the top.
Again,
Slowly release the air.
Now even slower,
Take another deep breath.
Fill your lungs and hold the air at the top.
And slowly release the breath and imagine the tension leaving your body.
And continue to breathe slowly and steadily throughout this exercise.
Let's start by moving your attention to your feet.
Begin to tense your feet by curling your toes and the arch of your foot.
Hold onto the toes and the arch of your foot.
Feel the tension and notice what it feels like.
And release the tension in your feet.
Notice the new feeling of relaxation.
Next,
Begin to focus on your lower legs.
Tense the muscles in your calves.
Hold them tightly and pay attention to the feeling of tension here.
And release the tension from your lower legs.
Once again,
Noticing here what that feels like.
Next,
Tense the muscles of your knees and the thighs.
You can do this by tightly squeezing your thighs together.
Make sure you feel tension without going to the point of strain.
And release.
Feel the tension leave your muscles and take a moment here to feel the lower body.
Letting your legs fully settle.
Feeling heavy into whatever surface you're resting on.
Now begin to tense your stomach and chest.
You can do this by sucking your stomach in and squeeze harder and hold the tension.
Release the tension now.
Allow your body to go limp,
Letting the abdomen rest and release.
And let's take another deep breath together now.
Breathe in slowly,
Noticing the air fill your lungs and hold it at the top.
And release the air out slowly.
Feeling it leaving your lungs.
Next,
Tense the muscles in your back by bringing your shoulders together behind you.
Hold them tightly here.
Tense them as hard as you can without straining and keep holding.
And release the tension from your back.
Feel the tension slowly leaving your body.
The new feeling of relaxation taking its place.
Notice here how different your body feels when you allow it to relax.
Now tense your arms all the way from your hands to your shoulders.
Make a fist and squeeze all the way up your arms and hold it here.
Release the tension from your arms and shoulders.
Again,
Notice the feeling of relaxation in your fingers,
Hands,
Arms,
And shoulders.
Notice how your arms feel limp and at ease.
Move up to your neck and your head.
Tense your face and your neck by scrunching up your face,
Squeezing the muscles around your eyes and mouth.
And hold here.
And release the tension now.
Again,
Notice the new feeling of relaxation.
Finally,
Tense your entire body.
Your feet,
Legs,
Stomach,
Chest,
Arms,
Head,
And neck.
Try tensing a tiny bit harder without straining.
And hold the tension here.
Now release and allow your whole body to go limp.
And continue taking deep breaths.
From head to toe,
Let yourself sink into this deeply relaxed state.
Further settling into your chair or couch or bed.
Feeling here what it feels like when we don't ask the body to do anything,
When we can just be.
Take a moment to thank yourself for dedicating this time to care for your mind and body today.
And when you're ready,
You can invite some movement into your hands and feet and gently flutter your eyes open.
If you can,
I invite you to return to this practice daily.
It's a gentle way to nurture yourself and help your body release stress.
