Hi,
It's Mandy here.
Today we're going to be doing a mindfulness-based progressive muscle relaxation.
So the purpose of this particular practice is to slowly and systematically work our way through certain muscle groups by allowing them to become tense and then noticing and feeling through the relaxation process as you bring ease to the body.
So the purpose is not to try too hard or see if you can get this right.
It's really about noticing felt sensations in the body of tension and feeling what it likes to have muscles relax.
This practice can be particularly useful if you're having difficulty sleeping,
It can be used when you're feeling stressed or anxious,
It can even be useful if you're experiencing physical pain in the body because it can be a way that you can redirect your attention to other parts of the body that are not hurting,
And it can also be useful sometimes to lean into the feeling of tension and of relaxation.
Sometimes there's parts in our body that are almost tense by default and if we don't realize that,
How much tension we're carrying in the body,
It can be a difficult thing to ease.
So let's begin.
You can do this practice sitting or lying,
It's up to you,
Whatever makes you feel most comfortable.
You can have your eyes open or closed.
If you are sitting it can be useful to sit in a hardbacked chair just because it can be useful to have your feet on the floor so that you can access them and when we come to move this part of the body.
And remembering that all of the invitations in this practice are just that,
Invitations.
You know your body best,
So only engage in as much as you feel comfortable doing.
If you need to skip a part of the body that's totally fine,
It's not a competition,
It's not about how hard you tense your muscles or how far you move them,
The main thing is about noticing,
Listening to the body moment by moment.
So to begin with let's take three long deep breaths together.
Breathing in and exhaling.
Maybe trying to take the deepest breath you've taken today.
And then just allowing your breath to come back into its natural rhythm.
Becoming aware of the parts of the body that are in contact with the surface beneath you.
Seeing if it's possible to give the weight of your body up to gravity and really rest back into that surface,
Knowing that you're being held.
You may even like to see if it's possible to bring just a little bit more ease to the body.
And as we work our way through the body,
Just remembering the invitations to tense parts of the body.
You don't need to do it so hard that you cause yourself any pain.
Maybe just squeezing enough to get a little bit of a tremble,
Really engaging the muscles and then allowing them to relax on an exhale.
So I invite you to bring your attention to the top of your head and your face,
Just becoming aware of this part of the body,
Noticing any sensations that are here.
Paying particular attention to the forehead can be a part of the body where we do hold a lot of tension.
That frown,
That perpetual frown that might be there.
So starting with the eyebrows,
Just lifting them up as high as you can and holding them like that.
And then on an exhale,
Releasing them,
Just allowing them to come back into their natural position and noticing any sensations that are here.
Becoming aware of the eyes and the area around the eyes.
And then squeezing the eyes shut as tight as you can,
Just noticing the sensations that generates.
And on an exhale,
Releasing that.
Just becoming aware of the area around the mouth,
The lips,
The jaw.
And then opening the mouth as wide as you can,
Feeling the stretch on the sides of the mouth.
And then on an exhale,
Releasing that,
Just noticing the sensations that are here.
Becoming aware of the back of the head.
If you're lying down,
You might feel that resting on the surface beneath you.
And then pressing the head back into the pillow beneath you or the bed or the floor.
If you're sitting up,
Maybe that means pressing your head back as if you're making yourself have a double chin and just holding that.
And then releasing on an exhale.
Then becoming aware of the shoulders,
Noticing sensations that are present here.
And then raising the shoulders towards your ears now and holding them up as high as you feel comfortable.
And then on an exhale,
Allowing them to rest back down the body,
Just noticing any noises that this might generate,
Feelings of softness that might come afterwards.
And just breathing with these sensations as you notice them.
You might like to bend the elbow up now as if you're flexing your biceps,
Doing that pose that you see people do at the gym,
Just holding this,
Noticing the stretch in the muscles and then straightening the arms again,
Allowing them to relax.
Then you might like to keep the arms as straight as you possibly can,
Engaging the tricep muscles.
Just holding that.
And then releasing on an exhale.
Coming down to the hands now and making a fist and holding that.
And then releasing,
Noticing the sensations,
Maybe sensations of tingling or throbbing in the hands.
Just allowing whatever sensations it is that you find to be there,
Not looking for any certain thing to happen.
Now coming around to the front of the body,
Perhaps into the chest and just noticing the rise and fall of the chest as you breathe.
You might like to take a really deep breath up into the chest,
Expanding the lungs and hold that for a moment or two.
And then releasing on an out breath and becoming aware of your lower abdomen.
Feeling this move with the breath,
Rising and falling.
And then tensing the stomach muscles as if you're pulling your belly button down towards your spine and just holding that tension there.
And then letting go on an out breath.
And maybe just taking a moment here to sense into the whole of the upper body now.
Feeling the weight of the body,
The movement of the breath.
Just checking out different muscle groups,
Sensations that are here,
Just as you find them.
And then we continue on down to the bottom half of the body,
Perhaps becoming aware of your bottom.
It can be another place that we hold a lot of tension,
Just feeling into the sensations that are present here.
And you might like to squeeze your butt cheeks together,
Like you're holding on to go to the toilet.
And then releasing on an out breath.
Becoming aware of the thighs and the upper part of the leg,
Perhaps straightening the leg as straight as you can and feeling the tension that can bring into the thighs.
And then releasing.
And maybe bringing your legs closer together as if you're squeezing them together as close as they can go.
And then releasing.
Feeling into the sensations that are generated in this part of the body.
And becoming aware of the ankles and the feet.
Perhaps pulling the toes up towards your head.
Holding and releasing.
And maybe pointing your toes down towards the floor as if you're up on your tippy toes.
And releasing.
And expanding your awareness now to the whole body.
The whole body lying or sitting here.
All the different muscles,
All the different sensations,
The movements within the body.
And this is a practice that you can try out for yourself in other parts of the day as a formal practice like this or just when you're sitting at your computer doing some work just notice what parts are feeling tense and whether a squeeze and a relax might be just the thing you need to bring a little bit more ease into the body.
Practicing cultivating a calm,
Non-judging awareness in this way in any moment that comes to you.
Whether it's a moment of tension or a moment of relaxation.
Just bringing that open hearted curiosity to each moment as best you can.
Exploring the body,
Listening to the sensations that are here moment by moment.
Thanks,
See you next time.
