Relax Your Muscles & Slow Your Breath

In this session we practice 'Progressive Muscle Relaxation & Slow Calm Breathing', followed by 10 minutes of silent practice.

Start by taking a slow calm breath and checking into the body and mind. Whilst taking slow deep breaths, in through the nose - scan, tense and release each muscle, then tense and release the entire body at once.

Progressive muscle relaxation is a simple way to help the body (and in turn the mind) to relax. It can be done in a flow, or targeted on areas that you know you are holding tension. When combined with a slowing of the breath, deep relaxation will come.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the session, I invite you to take a seat or lie down and get yourself comfortable, You can close down the eyes if you wish and just begin by slowing down the breath in through the nose, Low into the belly and slow, Maintaining that slowing of the breath, Begin by checking into the body, Noting any tensions or sensations arising and in general just noting how you're feeling, What's your mood, What thoughts are present, Today we're going to be practicing something called a progressive muscle relaxation, Where we squeeze a certain muscle for about three to five seconds and then with the out breath we release, So I'll say for example hand, Squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze, Squeeze and release, This practice is a very good way to release tension from the body and in turn calm down, So you'll take a breath, Squeeze and then release, When you're squeezing do so to an extent that is a little bit intense but not so much that you're causing straining or injury, Lets begin, Left foot, Squeezing and releasing, Left leg, Squeezing and releasing, Right foot, Squeezing and releasing, Right leg, Squeezing and releasing, Hips, Groin and buttocks, Squeezing and releasing, Belly and lower back, Squeezing and releasing, Chest and upper back, Squeezing and releasing, Shrugging the shoulders up, Squeezing and releasing, Left hand, Squeezing and releasing, Right hand, Squeezing and releasing, Left arm, Squeezing and releasing, Right arm, Squeezing and releasing, Neck, Head and face, Squeezing and releasing, Now we're going to move to the entirety of the body, Squeezing the entirety of the body, And releasing, Once again, Squeezing the entirety of the body, And releasing, One final one, Squeezing the entirety of the body, And releasing, Now taking a moment to explore any muscles that you feel need additional squeezing and releasing, Additional relaxation, Finding any muscle you would like to work with, And if you're not sure, Just do the entirety of the body again, Squeezing, Releasing, Same muscle, We're moving on to different ones squeezing, And releasing, Final one, Squeezing, And releasing, Now just taking a moment to actively relax the entirety of the body noting how you're feeling in this moment, We're going to take another slow, Deep breath in through the nose, And on the out breath, If you feel comfortable, We are going to sigh, So breathing in, Followed by a sighing release as you allow every muscle to relax, Two more, Breathing in deeply, And sighing on the out breath slow, Deep breath in through the nose, And sighing on the out breath now just taking a moment to sit with your body, Noting how you feel, Just noting what is coming up, Accepting it all so in this session, We explored a basic progressive muscle relaxation, You could extend the squeezing and releasing as many cycles through the body as you liked, Holding for longer in a way that's comfortable for you or really going specific to different muscle groups, I went hand and arm and legs and belly, In a broad stroke in this session, But you could really get minute and specific with it, Really take your time with it when combined with slow, Calm breathing, Progressive muscle relaxation is an excellent way to settle the nervous system, To calm the body, The mind checks in, And it realises that we're breathing slowly, It realises that our muscles are relaxed, And it interprets that as the fact that we are safe slow breathing, Relaxed muscles equals safety, Therefore we can be calm, So if you're feeling overwhelmed, Or anxious, Slow down the breath, Squeeze and release the muscles in the body and at the end we did a slow deep sighing breath, There's something about adding a sigh to the breath that once again triggers some physiological calmness and release thank you for joining me today, And I will see you in the next session, But if you like, We can sit for another 10 minutes in silence, You can explore the techniques of progressive muscle relaxation, Slow deep sighing breath at your leisure, Or any other practice you would like to try, Let's begin so if you'd like to maintain the meditation, You're more than welcome to do so, But for everyone else, Gently returning back to your bodies, Back to the session, Back to your day in this session we explored progressive muscle relaxation, And the slowing down of the breath, Squeezing and releasing muscles in turn, Or all at once, When combined with a slowing of the breath, Nose low and slow, Will foster relaxation and calm you can use this as a daily practice, Or in response to overwhelm, Anxiety, Or other forms of dysregulation, Thank you for joining me, And I'll see you in the next session