Good evening and welcome to progressive muscle relaxation.
This is a quick scan where we tighten intents contracting our muscles as we inhale and as we exhale we soften and release the muscles.
This way we know what it feels like when we're tight and tense outside in the real world and we gain the insight and ability to have that mind-body awareness in releasing what we're holding.
Oftentimes it's unnecessary and this is a practice that's great for inducing sleep and relaxation.
So find your nice cozy spot in bed.
Let's begin by starting with the breath.
We're going to inhale focusing on the belly.
The belly rises like we're blowing up a beach ball.
Exhale soften and sink the belly back down towards your bed mattress.
Inhale one more time.
Belly feels like a beach ball nice and round.
Exhale soften belly back down to mother earth.
Great let's start with the feet.
So focusing on the left foot and the right foot we're going to flex the feet forward.
Straighten them.
We're gonna flex them and tighten and tense them as much as we can.
Big inhale.
Exhale release.
From here we're gonna go ahead and tighten and tense the calves.
Right and left calf.
Go ahead and make that nice tense contraction.
Inhaling.
Exhaling releasing.
From here we're moving up to the thighs.
We're going to engage the right leg completely.
We're going to squeeze through the back of the glute.
Hold the leg nice and tight.
Exhale soften and release.
Left leg.
We're going to tighten and tense every muscle in the left leg.
The glute included.
Tighten tense and squeeze deeper.
Exhale soften and release.
From here we're gonna move into the abdominal area.
Let's go ahead and exhale as if we are contracting the abdomen area.
So we're going to tighten and tense that area.
If it's easier for you you can kind of crunch up a little bit.
Hold it till it's nice and tight.
Inhale.
Exhale soften release.
From here we move up towards the pectoral muscles.
We're going to engage them pressing them together creating the space around the heart.
A nice secure bond.
Inhaling.
Exhaling softening.
Now the back.
We're going to arch the back big.
Inhale arch in the back.
Chest lifts up one more nice round rainbow behind the back.
Exhale sink down back into your bed.
Moving up towards the upper back we're going to press the shoulder blades together.
So if you're holding a pencil between the two in your back feel your collar bones press down inhale hold it nice and tight intense.
Exhale soften and release.
Let it go.
From here we're going to take the shoulders up towards the ears holding it nice and tight intense.
Keep breathing in.
Exhale soften and allow the shoulders to fall.
Let's do that one more time.
Big inhale for as long as you can go.
Tight and tense more tense as tight as you can go.
Exhale soften release.
Let's go ahead and take the left arm out from the side of the body and we're going to make a fist.
We're going to squeeze that left hand fist as much as we can tightening the entire left arm out.
So we're going to squeeze that left hand fist as much as we can.
Tightening the entire left arm.
Inhale.
Exhale soften and release.
Moving over to the right arm.
Making a fist.
Inhale tighten and tense the complete right arm.
Exhale soften and release.
Moving up to the face.
We're going to make a face as if we're angry.
So tightening and tensing all the muscles in the forehead,
The jaw,
The cheeks,
The eyes.
Soften and release the face.
From here let's go ahead and take the jaw from side to side.
And then holding it in an area nice and open.
Super tense.
As you inhale and exhale soften and release the jaw allowing it to fall where it feels most comfortable.
From here we'll go ahead and scrunch up the nose.
Inhaling and exhaling softening the nose.
From here we raise the eyebrows up.
Inhaling.
Exhaling softening.
And now we're going to breathe in.
Tighten and tense up the entire body from head to toe.
As tight as you can.
Big inhale tightening up.
Exhale softening and releasing.
Letting it go.
One more time just like that.
Inhaling the entire body.
Tightening,
Tensing,
Contracting every muscle.
Feeling it with every ounce of your day.
Exhaling letting it go releasing it.
And now just allowing yourself to rest and restore.
Sweet dreams.
Namaste.
