Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Progressive Muscle Relaxation helps your body to relax. Through this meditation, Mikaela will help you notice the difference between feeling tense and relaxed. This meditation is helpful for those with anxiety, who are feeling stressed, or trying to fall asleep.

Transcript

Hello,

Welcome to this guided meditation.

My name is Mikayla.

We will be doing a progressive muscle relaxation today.

Progressive muscle relaxations are a great way to relax your body and get some peace at the beginning or end of your day,

Or really anytime that you need it.

So go ahead and get comfortable.

You either want to be seated with your feet on the floor or laying down on your back.

Make sure that nothing is crisscrossed,

Your ankles,

Your legs,

Your hands or your arms.

So everything is open to the energy that you are receiving.

And when you are ready,

Take a deep breath in through your nose,

Hold it for a moment and let it out through your mouth.

In deep through your nose,

Hold it for a moment and let it out through your mouth.

And once more,

Deep,

Deep in the deepest you've done so far,

Hold it for a moment and let it go.

Notice how your breath has changed.

Is it deeper?

Is it slower?

Does it feel more intentional?

Or does it feel exactly the same as it did before?

There is no right or wrong answer to these questions.

Bring your attention down to your feet.

Scrunch up the muscles in your feet,

Curl your toes and hold them in this tense position.

Notice what it feels like to have tension in your feet and on your next exhale let it go.

Allow relaxation to flow from your heels to your toes.

Once more,

Take a deep breath in,

Curl your toes,

Scrunch up the muscles in your feet and then let it go.

Move your attention up to your calves,

Pull the top of your feet,

Your toes up towards your kneecaps,

Tensing the muscles in your calves.

Hold it here for a moment and on your exhale let it go.

Feel the difference between tight and relaxed.

Take a deep breath in,

Pull your toes up towards your kneecaps,

Tightening the muscles in your calves.

Hold it for a moment and now relax your legs and let that relaxation flow like warm water down your legs.

Bring your attention up to your thighs.

If you are sitting down you can press your heels into the ground and this will tighten the muscles in your thighs.

If you are laying down simply pull your thighs in towards each other and tense up the muscles in your thighs.

Take a deep breath in and tense up the muscles in your thighs.

Holding it for a moment and on your exhale let it go.

Notice the difference between tense and relaxed.

Our thighs carry a lot of tension.

They are a big muscle in our body so it is noticeable if they are tense.

Once more take a deep breath in,

Tighten the muscles in your thighs and on your exhale let it go.

Bring your attention up to your buttocks,

Tighten the muscles in your buttocks,

Hold them tight,

Notice what it feels like to have tension in your body and on your exhale let it go.

Allow that relaxation to flow all the way down your legs and on your next inhale tighten up the muscles in your buttocks feeling that tension and when you let go feel the relief of relaxation.

Take a few moments to take stock of your body noticing areas that feel relaxed and areas that still have tension.

Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out and on your next inhale tighten up both legs from your toes to your calves to your thighs to your buttocks holding your legs in tension.

Feeling the slight burn of holding your muscles so tight and on your next exhale relax,

Let it go.

Allow your body to sink into your chair or your bed.

Take a deep breath in,

Again tighten all the muscles in your legs,

Feel this tension and when you exhale let it go and notice the difference between relaxed and tense.

Bring your attention up to your belly,

Notice how when you inhale your belly rises and when you exhale your belly falls.

To tighten up the muscles in your stomach you are going to pull your belly button back towards your spine.

On your next inhale tighten up the muscles in your stomach feeling the tension and when you exhale allow that tension to be released.

Relax,

Feel the flow of relaxation through your body.

Take a deep breath in,

Pull your stomach back towards your spine as if your belly button could reach all the way through your back.

Hold it for a moment and let it go.

Bring your attention up your body to your shoulders.

Your shoulders often carry a lot of tension,

Notice if this is true for you.

Raise your shoulders up,

Scrunching them up towards your ears and hold them in this position and on your next exhale let it go.

Take a deep breath in and a deep breath out allowing yourself to rest here for a moment enjoying this progressive relaxation.

And on your next inhale again raise your shoulders up towards your ears.

Hold them here,

Notice the tension and when you exhale release the tension,

Relax your shoulders and allow your whole body to flow with your breath.

To tighten the muscles in your biceps you will take your left wrist and raise it to your left shoulder and your right wrist to your right shoulder.

Tension up the muscles in your biceps,

Feel this tension and on an exhale relax,

Allow your arms to go down.

Notice the difference and if there's any relief when you relax your body may be getting heavier,

It may be getting lighter.

Take a moment and notice how your arms feel right now and again tighten up the muscles in your biceps,

Holding them tight,

Feeling that tension and when you let it go exhale let the tension leave your body.

Bring your attention to your forearms.

To tighten the muscle in your forearms take your left hand,

Bend it at the wrist as if you were trying to reach your inner elbow and your right hand reaching towards your inner right elbow.

Tighten up your forearms,

Feel this tension and when you exhale let it go,

Noticing a wave of relaxation that may flow through your fingertips.

Take a deep breath in,

Tighten up the muscles in your forearms and when you exhale let it go,

Bringing your attention down to your hands.

Form two fists with your hands and hold this tension for a moment.

Notice the tightness in your knuckles and in your fingers and when you exhale let it go,

Feeling a sensation like warm water flowing over your muscles.

Take a deep breath in,

Tighten the muscles in your hands,

Hold it here for a moment and when you exhale let it go.

Let your attention flow up to your face,

Some people hold tension in their foreheads or in their jaw,

See if this is true for you and when you're ready take a deep breath in and open your mouth as wide as you can.

You will feel tension in your forehead,

In your jaw and in your whole face.

When you are ready release this tension on an exhale.

Notice how your face has relaxed,

Notice any changes in your face.

Once more take a deep breath in,

Open your mouth as wide as you can,

Feel that tension in your face and on an exhale let it go.

Take stock of how your body feels,

Does it feel heavy or light?

Are there any areas where there is still tension or do you feel completely relaxed and at peace in this moment?

If it feels good to you,

Take a deep breath in and tighten up all the muscles in your body from your legs to your torso,

Your arms and your face,

Holding everything in tension,

Noticing what it feels like to not be relaxed and when you are ready exhale and relax.

Feel free to take a few minutes in this position to relax and to let go,

To enjoy the sensations that you are feeling.

If you are ready to wake up,

If you are ready to go on with your day,

Wiggle your fingers,

Wiggle your toes,

Move your head from side to side,

Stretch your body in whatever way feels comfortable to you,

Lifting your arms above your head and stretching,

Gently waking your body up.

Thank you for enjoying this meditation and for taking time out of your day to focus on yourself.