Hello and welcome to this mindfulness meditation on progressive muscle relaxation.
This is a particularly effective exercise to do if you have been feeling anxious or stressed in any way,
But it's also just a very good way to reinforce muscle relaxation for good sleep.
So I'd like to invite you to sit back,
Or if you're at home,
Lie down in a comfortable position and if you're happy to do so,
Just allow your eyes to gently close.
Otherwise just soften your gaze on a fixed point in the mid-distance.
And we're going to start by taking a few centering deep breaths in through the nose.
Notice the feeling of air moving in your body,
Filling your lungs.
After the next inhalation,
Hold your breath for a count of four or five.
And slowly release the breath.
Imagine the feeling of tension leaving your body and observe your muscles softening,
Relaxing.
We're going to begin by progressively tensing and releasing different muscle groups in our body.
Let's start with our hands.
I'd like you to tense your fists as tightly as you can and hold it,
Tighter if you can.
Hold,
Study the tension in your fists,
Your wrists,
Your forearms.
Now let go,
Relax your hands,
Feel the looseness in your hands,
Your wrists,
Feel your muscles in your forearms soften.
Notice the contrast between the tension and the release.
Now bend your elbows,
Tense your biceps,
Tense them as hard as you can and notice the feeling of tension,
Tautness.
Okay relax,
Straighten out your arms.
Notice the feeling of relaxation in your arms and your shoulders.
Notice how your arms feel soft,
Limp,
At ease.
Now let's turn attention to our head.
Roll your head from the left to the right.
Feel the changing locus of stress or tension in the muscles around your neck.
Now straighten your head,
Bring it forwards until your chin is touching your chest.
Press your chin hard against your chest.
Feel the tension in your throat,
The back of your neck,
Hold and relax,
Allowing your head to return to its natural position.
Find a position for your head that is comfortable.
Let that relaxation deepen.
Next,
Tense the muscles in your back by bringing your shoulders tightly together behind you.
Hold it tightly.
Tense them as hard as you can.
Keep holding and let go.
Feel the tension leave your back.
Feel the new feeling of relaxation and softening.
Notice how different your body feels when you allow it to relax.
Now shrug your shoulders up to your ears and hold.
And relax,
Drop your shoulders back down.
Feel the relaxation spreading through your neck,
Your throat,
Your shoulders.
Give your body another chance to relax,
To soften.
Feel the comfort and the heaviness of your body.
Next,
Breathe in and fill your lungs completely.
Imagine them as full as they can possibly be and hold.
And then exhale,
Let the air hiss out of your body,
Let your chest become loose.
Continue to relax,
Allow your breathing to regain its natural rhythm.
Now tighten your buttocks and your thighs.
Squeeze as hard as you can.
And release,
Noticing the difference in your body as you let go.
We'll now move our attention to your calves and your feet.
Press your toes downwards as hard as you can,
Making your calves tense,
Taut.
Study that tension.
Now bend your toes upwards in the direction of your face,
Creating tension in your shins.
And let it go.
Finally,
I'd like you to tense your entire body.
Tense hard,
Feet,
Legs,
Stomach,
Chest,
Arms,
Head,
Neck.
Hold everything tight.
And relax.
Feel the looseness,
The heaviness,
The softness in your body.
Let go more and more.
Experience the relaxation deepening.
Pay attention to that feeling of relaxation and how different it is from the tension you felt before.
Begin to wake up your body.
Slowly moving your fingers and toes.
Slowly adjusting your arms and your legs.
Stretching.
Yawning,
If you feel like it.
When you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Practicing this technique regularly will give your muscles the memory they need to relax and soften in times of stress or anxiety.
You can use this track as an SOS when you're feeling uncomfortably tense,
Uncomfortably anxious.
Or you can use this track as a prelude to sleep and simply allow yourself to drift off.
Thank you for joining me today for this practice.
