5-Minute Rapid Relaxation

This is a 5-minute rapid relaxation guided meditation. Suited for beginners and for anyone wanting to take just 5 minutes to reduce stress and to prompt their body to relax - turning off the fight/flight and activating the relaxation response - letting go of tension. Accompanied by relaxing background music, you can sit for longer at the end of this meditation - simply focus on your breath and the feelings of relaxation in your body. Enjoy...

Transcript

This is the Rapid Relaxation. This rapid relaxation exercise is best done with your body fairly upright. So just take a moment to adjust your position, Ensuring your back is as upright as is comfortable. Place your feet flat on the floor, A little apart, And then find where your hands are most comfortable, Probably just resting on your thighs or gently cupped in your lap. Just notice what works best for you and then when you're ready let your eyes gently close. Now take a deep breath in and gently sigh the breath out. You will probably notice a wave of relaxation flowing down through the body, The muscles softening, Loosening, Relaxing, Releasing, Just simply letting go. Do that once again, Another deeper breath in, Gently sighing the breath out and then just allowing the breath to take up whatever rhythm feels comfortable for you at the moment, Quite effortlessly. Just feeling the ease of it all. Now notice the feeling of letting go a little more with each out breath, Just simply letting go. And now move your back a little from side to side in a gentle swaying motion, Just enough to feel your spine moving across its point of balance. And as you do that, Feel the muscles along either side of the spine softening and loosening, Feel them relaxing and releasing and then the spine coming to rest in its point of balance. Another deeper breath in and gently sighing the breath out, Just simply letting go. So now move the head a little from side to side, Again just a gentle swaying motion, Just enough to feel the head moving across its point of balance. And as you do that, Feel the muscles along either side of the neck softening and loosening, Relaxing and releasing and then the head coming to rest in its point of balance. Another deeper breath in and gently sighing the breath out. And now moving the head a little from front to back, Feeling the ease of the movement almost like the head is a helium balloon just floating there and the neck like a string gently holding it in place. And then the head coming to rest in its point of balance, Simply resting now in that point of balance, Quite effortlessly, Just feeling the ease of it just going with it, Simply letting go. And so now sit quietly as long as you choose, And when you are ready, Just let your eyes gently open.