Welcome to Release,
Relax and Calm.
I'm Marianne DeClair.
Thank you for joining me.
In this practice,
You'll be relaxing with a body scan,
Releasing tension with a muscle contraction and your breath,
And then anchoring calm.
Take a moment to get comfortable,
Either on a chair or lying down on the floor.
And know that you can always change your position at any time during the relaxation.
And I encourage you to welcome any feelings or sensations that come up with self-compassion,
With openness and non-judgment.
And take this time for yourself to connect within.
So get into your position in which you feel no tension.
Close your eyes and allow your body to relax.
Take a deep breath,
Filling the chest and the belly with air.
And exhale,
Allowing the chest and the belly to fall.
Breathe normally now.
And become aware of your body comfortably settled.
Feel all the points of contact between your body and your support.
The back of your head if you're lying down.
Your arms.
Your hands.
Your back.
Your buttocks.
Your legs.
And your feet.
Feel your body begin to naturally stretch out and relax even more.
And become aware of the calm settling into your body.
And now I invite you to bring your awareness to your head and your face.
And starting at the top of your head,
Feel your scalp begin to relax.
And soften your forehead.
Feel all your expression lines smoothing out and disappearing.
Relax your eyebrows.
Relax all the muscles around your eyes.
Relax your temples.
Your cheekbones.
Your nostrils.
Notice the cool air around your nostrils on each inhale.
And the warm air around your nostrils on each exhale.
Relax your cheeks.
Unclench your jaws.
Maybe open your mouth.
And let your tongue rest naturally in your mouth.
Feel your throat relax and swallow freely.
Become aware that your face is completely relaxed.
Let the release continue down into the nape of your neck.
Your traps.
Your shoulders.
Allow your shoulders to naturally drop downwards.
And let this feeling of relaxation continue into your upper arms.
Your elbows.
Your forearms.
And your hands right down to your fingertips.
Become aware that your upper limbs are completely relaxed.
Then bring your attention now to your back.
And with every breath,
Feel it stretching out bit by bit.
Relax all the muscles along your spine from your upper back down to your lower back.
Become aware that your back is completely relaxed.
And bring your awareness now to your chest.
And observe the movements of your rib cage with every breath.
On the inhale,
Your ribs open.
On the exhale,
They close.
And feel how your heart beats are calm and regular.
Feel your belly relaxing and letting go.
And observe the movements of your belly with every breath.
Feel your belly rise with each inhale.
And lower with each exhale.
Notice these calm and regular movements.
Like waves on a beach.
And now let this feeling of relaxation diffuse into your pelvis.
Relax your hips.
Your buttocks.
Your perineum.
And become aware that your upper body is completely relaxed.
And allow this feeling of relaxation to continue down into your legs.
Feel your thighs relaxing.
Relax your knees.
Your calves and your shins.
Your ankles.
And your feet down to the tips of your toes.
Become aware of your lower limbs completely relaxed.
Become aware of your whole body completely relaxed.
I'm now going to guide you to let go of any residual physical,
Mental or emotional tensions.
Here's a little explanation.
In a moment at my signal,
You'll expand your belly as you breathe in through your nose.
And you'll lightly contract your whole body as you hold your breath.
And then you'll relax everything as you exhale loudly through your mouth.
Here we go.
Inhale and your belly expands.
Hold your breath and lightly contract all the muscles in your body from your head and face down to your feet.
Exhale loudly through your mouth as you get rid of any residual tensions.
Relax and take a normal breath.
And bring your awareness to the calm sensation in your whole body.
And now I invite you to let an image of a place in nature that gives you a sense of calm come to mind.
Maybe it's a place you've been.
Or maybe it's an imaginary place.
A place makes you feel peaceful and content.
Look around you and notice everything in your environment.
Observe the colors,
The light and the shadows.
Notice if there are any other people with you.
Pay attention to the sounds in this place.
The sounds of nature.
Maybe some wind blowing through the trees.
The birds singing.
The sound of laughter if there are people with you.
Or any other sounds that come to you.
Now breathe in and smell the air.
And notice all the fragrances,
The perfumes and any other scents that you can distinguish in this place.
Touch the objects around you.
Notice their textures.
Feel the air on your skin and the temperature.
Notice and welcome the positive feelings that you have in this place.
Become aware of this feeling of calm.
And now I invite you to anchor this calm in your body.
In a moment,
You'll breathe in through your nose while expanding your belly.
You'll hold your breath and bring the word calm into your mind.
And then you'll gently exhale through your mouth to diffuse this calm throughout your body.
Here we go.
Inhale.
Hold your breath and think of the word calm.
And exhale slowly through your mouth to diffuse this calm throughout your whole body.
Take a normal breath.
Welcome all these positive sensations.
Become aware of how your whole body is calm.
And bring your awareness to all the sensations you have in your body.
Integrate these sensations.
Remember that these sensations are always in you.
And think about activating them in your everyday life.
Come back to the points of contact of your body with the support beneath you.
Feel the back of your head,
Your arms,
Your back,
Your pelvis,
Your legs,
And your feet.
Imagine the space that you are in.
Bring your awareness to the sounds outside.
Take a deep breath in through your nose to energize you.
And exhale through your mouth.
Take a normal breath.
Start to slowly move.
You can twinkle your fingers and your toes.
And start to move the rest of your body.
Take a big stretch,
Hands overhead.
Maybe yawn.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
And while you're still here,
I invite you to think about what feelings and sensations came up for you during this session.
And remember that you can come back to this recording anytime you feel the need to restore calm in your body.
Thank you once again for joining me here today for Release,
Relax,
And Calm.
I'm Maryanne De Clear.
