Hi it's Mandy here.
Welcome to this short and gentle progressive muscle relaxation practice.
This is a simple way of exploring tension and ease in the body and also a way to remind your system that it can shift into a calmer state,
Particularly when we notice tension and can pay attention to it.
So just take a moment to get comfortable.
You can do this practice in any posture,
Sitting,
Standing or lying and there's no right or wrong.
Just do as much or as little as feels comfortable.
If something doesn't feel good you can just skip it.
Of course you know your body best.
So we're just going to start with a few easy breaths,
Just breathing in and letting go on the out breath.
And as you breathe you may see if the body can soften a little with each exhale.
And we're just going to explore a few areas of the body together,
Starting with the face.
If it feels okay,
Gently lifting up the eyebrows like you're really surprised,
Holding that for a moment.
Then softening,
Letting them drop.
And you may like to play around with that another time,
Lifting the eyebrows,
Holding that and relaxing,
Releasing and just noticing that difference between tension and release.
Now becoming aware of the eyes,
You might like to gently squeeze them closed,
Hold that for a moment and release.
And just feel what changes are here in the sensations around the eyes.
If it feels comfortable,
Maybe opening the mouth wide for a moment,
Feeling that tension along the sides of the lips.
And then just closing,
Letting go.
And feeling into the sensations that are here now in the face,
As you play around with that tension and release.
Moving your attention to the shoulders,
Perhaps lifting the shoulders up towards your ears,
Holding that for a little moment and then allowing the shoulders to soften and drop.
And just notice what happens when you release the tension.
So often during the day,
We can almost not notice how the shoulders creep up and up and up with stress or tension or endless time at the computer.
So just playing it around for a moment more,
Lifting the shoulders and relaxing them.
Just noticing quite how far down they can go.
And now bringing the attention to the hands,
Maybe curling the fingers into fists,
Holding that,
Feeling the pressure build and then softly releasing,
Letting the hands open.
Maybe one more time,
Making fists,
Holding that tight closed and releasing,
Softening,
Letting go.
Maybe you can feel some tingling or warmth.
And coming down to the belly now.
If it feels okay,
Gently drawing the belly in as if pulling it towards the spine,
Holding that for a moment,
Noticing the tension build to the stomach muscles and then releasing,
Softening.
Just noticing what that's like to draw the belly in,
The muscles all around the body tighten and softening and letting go.
And allowing the breath to just flow in and out naturally,
Seeing if there's any ease that follows.
And finally drawing the attention down to the feet,
Perhaps scrunching up your toes,
Feeling that tightness and tension build and then softening,
Relaxing,
Letting go.
Maybe pulling your toes up towards your head and holding on to that,
Feeling that pressure in the ankles and releasing,
Noticing any sensations that are here in the feet and legs as you settle.
And allowing your awareness to broaden now,
Taking the whole body resting here,
Feeling into the weight of the body,
The way gravity draws the body down towards the earth,
Feeling into the contact between your body and the surface beneath you.
And just noticing this exploration of tension,
How it can come and go,
Move and shift.
And also just relaxing into that knowledge that the body knows how to soften,
Particularly when we can pay attention in this way.
And also remembering that you can carry this practice into your daily life in small ways.
Whenever you remember,
Pausing,
Checking in with the felt sense of the body in any moment,
And just gently inquiring,
Is there tension here?
Does there need to be?
Maybe noticing,
You know,
Different parts of the body that can hold a lot of tension,
Checking in with whether you're clenching your jaw or whether your shoulders have crept up towards the ears.
Maybe noticing the quality of your breath,
Whether there's any tension in the belly.
All of these places,
Really common,
Where we can store tension sometimes without even realizing it.
And so each time we do this,
We pay attention,
We release tension,
We're reminding the body and brain that it's safe to let go.
So maybe just taking a few final deep breaths here.
And when you're ready,
Bringing your awareness back to the room.
Well done.
I'll see you next time.
