50 Minute Progressive Muscle Relaxation

In need of some TLC? Want to De-stress? Then make time for yourself, get comfortable (either sitting or laying down), and enjoy this long, 50-minute Progressive Muscle Relaxation Session. I do hope you will enjoy this.

Transcript

So begin by getting as comfortable as possible.

You can either be sitting or laying down.

And you can begin to relax by taking some slow and deep breaths.

And you can breathe in and out through your nose.

Just slowing down your breathing so you can relax.

Just notice when your mind wanders and gently bring it back to my words.

So just continue relaxing and following your breath.

Noticing when you're breathing in and noticing when you are breathing out.

And on the next few exhales just say the word relax.

So you can breathe in and as you exhale just say relax.

Breathing in slowly,

Calmly and deeply and breathing out and saying relax.

And you are taking this time for yourself because you deserve to relax.

So now I would like you to focus on your right hand.

You may like to visualize in your mind how this looks.

Now I want you to make a fist with your right hand and clench it tight.

Not to the point of pain but just feel that tension and hold it for a few more seconds.

And relax your hand.

Just allow that tension to drain away.

Just noticing how good it feels to let go of that tension.

And how good it feels to relax.

And again with that right hand making a fist.

One,

Two,

Clenching tight,

Three,

Four and five letting go.

Just allow all the tiny muscles of the hand just to relax.

You may notice your hand becoming heavier as if it's sinking into the ground.

And one more time focusing on that right hand making a fist,

Feeling that tension and tightening that fist.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

And really feel that tension draining away.

Easily draining away as you let go so easily.

And now shifting your attention to your right arm.

And bring your fist up to your shoulder as if you are showing off your biceps.

So bringing that right forearm up to your shoulder,

Tensing the arm.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

Allow that hand and arm to go back to where it was,

Feeling more relaxed as you let go of that tension.

And a second time bringing the hand up to the shoulder as if you are flexing your muscles,

Feeling that tension in the arm.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

Allow that arm to drop gently.

And as you exhale just feel that tension leaving.

And noticing how all by itself your breathing is slowing down as you relax.

Watching that gentle rise and fall of your tummy.

And one more time bringing that right arm up to the shoulder and tensing one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and really letting go now.

Just allowing yourself to relax,

Allowing that tension to drain all the way from your shoulder down your arm to your hands.

You may like to visualize that a small hole has appeared in your palm and all this tension can easily and quickly just drain through and out of your hand now.

And now you can just forget all about your right arm as it continues to relax all by itself.

So now moving your attention to your left hand and making a fist with your left hand,

Feeling that tension and holding it for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just letting go.

And a second time making a fist with your left hand,

Feeling that tension and holding it for one,

Two,

Three,

A bit tighter,

Four,

Five and now opening that fist and hand and just relaxing.

And the more you can relax the easier it gets and the easier it gets the more you can relax.

And a third time slowly making that fist with your left hand,

Squeezing tightly,

Feeling that tension and holding it for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

Just noting,

Noting in your mind how that feels,

How easily you can relax,

How easily you can let go of tension and stress.

So slowly moving your attention and focus up to your left arm and now moving your left forearm up to your shoulder to make that muscle,

To contract that muscle as if you are showing your biceps off and tensing hard for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and just relaxing,

Letting go.

Just allowing that wave of relaxation to wash over you.

And a second time slowly repeating that action and tensing the muscles in your arm for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and letting go,

Relax.

Noticing any changes,

Noticing if your arm feels heavier or looser.

And a third time repeating that action and tensing tightly for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and really letting go.

And just now noticing how the whole of your left arm is relaxed.

Just visualising how all tiny muscles and tendons of the arm are becoming longer,

Lengthening and loosening.

So now focusing on your forehead and you can raise your eyebrows as high as they will go as though you were surprised by something and just noticing that tension in the forehead and holding that for five,

Four,

Three,

Two,

One and just dropping the eyebrows again.

Noticing that change in tension.

And the second time raising your eyebrows as high as they will go,

Pretending you are surprised for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and now just relaxing.

Noticing those changes,

However small.

One more time,

Moving those eyebrows up as high as they go,

Taking a nice deep breath in.

One,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and exhale as you just relax.

And you may like to time your inhale with tensing and your exhale with your relaxing.

And now I would like you to focus on your eyes,

All the tiny muscles in and around the eyes.

And now just squeeze your eyes tight shut as hard as you can and squeezing a bit tighter for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go of your eyes.

Just allowing your eyes to return to how they were,

Either closed gently or a soft gaze,

Whatever feels most comfortable for you.

And so a second time squeezing your eyes tight shut for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just letting go and relax.

Just imagining all the tiny muscles of the eyes and eyebrows and your cheeks,

Just slowly and easily relaxing.

And now one more time,

Squeezing your eyes tight shut for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and now just relaxing your eyes.

Just feeling totally relaxed as you let go of that tension.

And you can drift down and move down your attention from your eyes to your mouth and your and open your mouth as wide as you can,

As though you are yawning.

Notice any tension or creaking or any sensation that is here.

When we're stressed we tend to clench our teeth and jaw.

So this is a great exercise to really relax and let go.

So holding that yawning motion for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and just relax the jaw and allow it to just hang comfortably.

Teeth not quite touching.

Noticing the difference that makes.

And so a second time opening your mouth as wide as you can,

As you might when you're yawning and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just relaxing.

Allowing the mouth and jaw just to be comfortable and be relaxed.

Just tuning into your breathing for a moment.

Just watching when you're breathing in and when you're breathing out.

Knowing this is happening all by itself.

Allowing you to relax easily without you needing to think about it.

And one more time opening your mouth as wide as you can,

Yawning and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just letting go.

Relax and just keep the chin comfortable.

Allow it to hang gently as feels best.

And now your neck and do take care as you tense these muscles and just pull your head back slowly as though you are looking up.

Just feel a slight strain in the neck for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

And you can move your neck very carefully and gently tilting it to the left just so you get a slight tension on the right side.

This is very gentle.

Just feeling that slight bit of tension in the neck and holding it for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just returning to the middle.

Feeling aligned and grounded as you relax.

Very slowly and gently moving your neck just slightly to the right so you feel a comfortable strain on the left side as you stretch.

And hold that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just return to the middle.

Just allow your head to relax.

If you are laying down your neck and head can really sink into the surface that you are laying on.

And if you are set upright it can just gently rest on your shoulders.

And now moving to your shoulders.

Another place where you carry a lot of tension.

Especially when we feel burdened or life is busy.

It's funny how we say I feel the weight of the world on my shoulders or I've got a lot on my shoulders.

So we do physically carry stress and tension here so we can let go of that.

So tense the muscles in your shoulders as you bring your shoulders up towards your ears and holding them next to the ears for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just relax.

And allow them to sink back down gently.

And a second time,

Tensing the muscles as you bring your shoulders up to your ears and holding that pose.

Feeling that tension and holding for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

Allow those shoulders to sink back down.

Drift back down and to relax.

One more time raising those shoulders up towards your ears and holding that tension.

Tensing the muscles in the shoulders and the trapezius muscles between your shoulders and your neck and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just really let go.

And just feel the tension leaving your shoulders and gently drifting and floating down your arms and your wrists and your hands where those holes still are and where that tension can easily slip away.

And just get the sense that tension is slowly draining away,

A lot like sand through a sand timer.

Sand can consistently and gently just fall and relax.

So moving your attention to your back and you can push your shoulder blades back,

Trying to touch them together.

And tensing for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and letting go.

Noticing the difference it makes when you're holding that tension and when you choose to let go.

And so a second time pushing your shoulder blades back,

Almost touching them together so that your chest is pushing forward and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just releasing that.

And the final time gently pushing your shoulder blades back and together,

Feeling that tension in the back and holding for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just letting go.

Just relaxing all the muscles and tendons in the back and the shoulder blades.

Shifting your focus in your mind to your chest and stomach.

And in just a moment I'll ask you to breathe in deeply and really fill up your lungs and chest with air and you will hold this for a few seconds before slowly exhaling and letting go.

And it's best to do this breathing through your nose only but you can breathe out through your mouth if that feels right.

So breathing in slowly and deeply,

Filling up your lungs and chest with air and just holding that for a moment and slowly exhaling and letting go.

Noticing how when you breathe the tummy moves and helps your lungs.

And a second time breathing in deeply filling up your lungs with that air and holding that for a few moments more and breathing out slowly,

Just letting go.

Breathing normally for a few breaths as you watch the gentle rising and falling of your breath.

And one more time breathing in deeply,

Really filling up the lungs and holding that at the top for a few moments.

And this time as you breathe out you can breathe out through your mouth and maybe let out a sigh if that feels right.

Simply letting go of any tension or stress in the chest or stomach.

So now moving your tension down to the hips and buttocks area and squeezing your buttock muscles and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just relaxing.

Second time squeezing the buttock muscles and holding that for a few seconds before you let go now.

And just allow all those muscles of the hips and buttocks and side of your legs just to relax.

And a third time squeezing your buttock muscles and holding that for a few more moments.

And now just as you exhale,

Relax.

And now slowly shifting your focus to the right upper leg and tightening and tensing your right thigh,

Squeezing the muscles in that right thigh and holding it for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just allowing it to relax.

Notice how it feels heavier when you relax and you can do such a great job at relaxing.

The second time just tightening and tensing your right thigh now and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and letting go.

Perhaps noticing the difference now between your right and your left legs.

Perhaps a difference in heaviness or sensation and just notice that.

And finally,

One final time tightening and tensing your right thigh and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just really relaxing.

Just allow all those muscles of the right thigh,

The top of that leg just to lengthen and loosen.

And that warm,

Relaxing feeling can slowly drift down to your lower leg and to the calf muscles at the back of your leg.

Focusing on the lower leg,

You're going to very carefully pull your toes towards you,

Pulling your toes upwards so you feel that slight stretch at the back in the calf muscle and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and let go.

And allow the leg and the foot just to relax again.

Feeling the tension really sink away and drift away in that right leg.

And the second time pulling your toes towards you or pointing your toes up and holding that tension,

Feeling that tension for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just let go.

And just one more time doing this carefully,

Pulling your toes towards you to stretch and really feel the stretch in that calf muscle.

Holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just relax.

Just allow that right lower leg to relax now.

Allow that tension to drift down and away as you no longer want it or need it.

Moving now to your right foot and curling your toes downwards and away from you.

And holding that curl in your toes for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and relaxing.

Just relax your foot and your toes.

Relax totally and completely.

Second time curling your toes downwards a bit like a ballerina does and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and let go.

Noticing how good it feels to relax.

And one more time curling your toes downwards,

Feeling that tension in your foot and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and now relax.

And again you may like to visualise a hole in your foot where this tension is leaving.

Where all this tension and aches and pains in that right leg can slowly drift away,

Can flow away like water through your leg,

Your knee,

Your shin,

Your calf all the way to the soles of your feet where it can leave and it can flow away.

So finally we're going to release that tension in the left leg.

So moving to the left upper leg,

To your thigh and tightening that left thigh and holding that tight for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and relaxing and letting go.

And repeating that to let go of even more tension.

Tensing that left thigh and squeezing it for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and let go.

Notice that leg feeling heavier and heavier and even heavier as you relax.

And one final time,

Tensing the top of that leg,

The thigh muscles now and holding that and tensing that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and just letting allowing that upper leg to be comfortable again.

So now moving to your left lower leg and carefully and gently pulling your toes up towards you,

Stretching the calf muscle just a bit and feeling and holding that tension for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and move that foot back down as you relax.

And pulling the toes up again feeling that stretch at the back of the leg for one,

Two,

Three and four and five and again just letting go.

Feeling that tension dissolve away.

Even visualising that tension dissolving away as you relax.

And one more time pulling your toes towards you as you stretch the calf muscle and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and just relax.

And feel that warm relaxing feeling,

Gently moving and drifting from the right upper leg down to the right lower leg and shifting its way to the left leg too.

Now feeling that left leg really relaxing as well as that right leg.

So finally your left foot,

Focusing on your left foot and curling your toes downwards and holding that tension for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and just let go.

And again curling those toes downwards and holding for one,

Two,

Three,

Four and five and just relax your foot.

Feeling that arch in your foot relax as well as the toes and the ankles.

All of those muscles can relax.

And one final time curling the toes down on that left foot,

Feeling that strain in the arch and holding that for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five and just letting go.

And now noticing how every muscle,

Every tendon,

Every fibre,

Every cell of your body from head to toe is heavy and relaxed.

And just feel how this feels and just notice where in your body you feel most relaxed,

Where you have most let go.

Just visualize for another minute those holes in your hands and your feet that allows any tension to drain away easily,

To trickle away like water or sand.

Before you feel any tension,

Shifting your attention once again to your breath.

Just watching and noticing when you're breathing in and when you're breathing out.

Keeping this relaxing feeling with you for the rest of the day and even longer.

Knowing you have a very natural ability to relax and any time and any moment you can choose to let go.

So if you are laying down you can either stay like this for a few more moments just focusing on your breathing or you may like to roll over gently on your side,

Taking some time here to slowly wake up before resuming your day.

If you are sat down you may like to slowly move your fingertips and your toes or stretch,

Whatever feels natural.

And just listen to yourself,

Listen to your intuition and ask what do I need?

And whatever you need and whatever you do next just keep this relaxing feeling with you.

And namaste.

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