For this relaxation,
If you can,
Try to lie down.
And if you are sitting,
Just make sure that your posture is aligned and your feet are flat on the floor.
Making sure that you're somewhere between being relaxed and alert.
I'll invite you to close your eyes or soften your gaze,
Whichever is preferable.
And take one palm of your hand and put it on your chest and the other on your stomach as you begin to connect to your breath.
Noticing how your chest and abdomen rise and fall naturally with each breath.
So taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through your nose,
All the way down into your stomach.
Release,
Exhaling out,
Emptying your abdomen completely.
Let's do that now each time for the count of four.
Following the prompts.
Breathing in for four.
Pausing for four seconds.
Exhaling out to the count of four.
And then pausing again for four.
Again,
Breathing in two,
Three,
Four.
Pause two,
Three,
Four.
Exhaling out.
And pausing for four again.
Now doing two cycles of this 16 second breath at your own pace,
Beginning with inhale.
And you can feel that your body has already undergone a change.
The tension in your body has begun to loosen and subside.
And you can let your breathing rhythm return to normal and relax.
You can listen to the ambient sounds surrounding you.
Maybe you can hear the sound of your own breathing.
And during this relaxation,
You will be tensing various muscles throughout your body.
Please do this without straining yourself.
You do not need to exert yourself just to contract each muscle firmly,
But as gently as you can breathing in.
And if you feel uncomfortable at any time,
You can simply relax and breathe normally.
Also bringing awareness first to your feet and your toes,
Breathe in deeply through your nose.
And as you do,
Gradually curl your toes down and tense the muscles in the soles of your feet.
Holding your breath for just a few seconds.
And when you're ready,
Release the muscles in your feet as you breathe out.
And feel the tension in your feet wash away as you exhale.
Notice how different your feet feel when they are tensed and when they are relaxed.
Then taking another long,
Slow,
Deep breath in through the nose,
Tensing the muscles in the soles of your feet,
Your toes.
Holding this position for as long as you can until you are ready to exhale and release.
Keeping yourself relaxing more and more deeply with each breath.
Your whole body is becoming heavier,
Softer,
And more relaxed as each moment passes.
So moving awareness now to your lower legs,
Your calf muscles,
Your shins.
And as you draw in a nice deep breath,
Point your toes upwards towards your knees and tighten these muscles.
And hold for a moment.
And on the exhale,
Let those muscles go limp.
Feeling your muscles relaxed,
Feeling the tension wash away with each out breath.
And now taking a nice long,
Slow,
Deep breath in and tensing the muscles in your thighs.
Breathing for just a moment and then releasing everything.
And as you do this,
The blood flow to your muscles increases and you may notice a warm tingling sensation.
Enjoy this feeling of soothing relaxation in your thighs.
Drawing in a nice deep breath now and bringing awareness,
Tightening the muscles to your bottom where you meet the floor or the cushion or the chair,
Holding this contraction for a few seconds and then releasing on the breath.
Feeling the tension leaving your muscles,
Feeling them relaxing completely.
Again take another long,
Slow,
Deep breath in and this time gradually tighten all the muscles in your legs from your toes up your thighs to your bottom.
And do this in whatever way feels natural and comfortable to you,
Holding it for as long as you can and then releasing all of these large and strong muscles on the out breath.
Enjoying the sensation of release as you become even more deeply relaxed.
And now bringing awareness to your stomach.
Drawing in a nice long deep breath in tightening these muscles,
Imagining that you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine,
Holding for as long as you can and release on the out breath.
Let your muscles relax.
Noting the sensation of relief that comes from letting go.
Moving your awareness to the muscles in your back and as you slowly breathe in arch your back slightly and tighten these muscles.
Now release your breath when you want to and let your muscles go limp and relax.
Beginning to move your attention now to your shoulder muscles,
The muscles in your neck.
What have you been carrying on your back?
Can you let it go?
If only for today in this moment.
And so as you draw in a nice long deep breath,
Pull your shoulders up towards your ears.
Release these muscles firmly,
Hold for as long as you can.
And on the out breath,
You can slowly begin to soften your shoulders,
Letting them lower,
Gently going loose and limp.
Feeling the tension subside as you continue to relax,
Breathing in,
Breathing out.
Feeling the heaviness in your body now,
Enjoying the feeling,
Feeling yourself becoming heavier and heavier,
Becoming more and more deeply relaxed.
You are calm.
You are secure.
You are at peace.
And now it's time to let go of all the tension in your arms and your hands,
Beginning with your upper arms.
And as you breathe in,
Raise your wrists towards your shoulders and tighten the muscles in your upper arms.
Hold that breath and contraction for as long as you can.
And then gently lower your arms and breath all the way out.
And you may feel a warm burning sensation in your muscles when you tighten them.
But you can also feel how relaxing it is to release the tightness and to breathe away all the tension.
And now bringing awareness to your forearms.
As you breathe in,
Curl your hands inwards as though you are trying to touch the inside of your elbows with your fingertips.
And now feel the tension subside as you relax and breathe out.
Feeling the tension washing away.
And now taking another long,
Slow,
Deep breath in tightly clenching your fists,
Holding for as long as you can,
Maybe longer.
And slowly releasing one finger at a time as you exhale.
Noticing any feelings of buzzing or throbbing as your hands become soft and relaxed.
And now your arms and hands are feeling heavy and relaxed.
And you could take a couple of nice,
Long,
Slow breaths here.
Feeling yourself slipping even deeper into a state of complete rest.
Bringing awareness to the muscles in your face.
Squeezing your eyes shut,
Clenching your lips together.
Scrunching up your nose.
Breathing in fully as you're doing this.
Holding,
Holding.
And then breathing out,
Relaxing all your facial muscles and feeling your face soften.
And now moving that awareness to the muscles in your jaw.
Take a deep breath in,
Feeling how your lungs are filled with air,
Opening your mouth as wide as you can.
Feel your jaw muscles stretching and tightening.
And exhaling out,
Allowing your mouth to gently close again.
And you are now completely relaxed from the tips of your toes to the top of your head.
And you can return your attention to the sound of your own breathing.
And enjoy the lovely,
Warm sensation of physical relaxation.
And when you are ready,
You can wiggle your toes and your fingers.
You can slowly widen your gaze or open your eyes.
And feel free to just sit in this space for a while and just be.
