This is an exercise called progressive muscle relaxation.
It involves tensing some of your muscles for about five to seven seconds and then relaxing
them for twenty to thirty seconds.
We will go through four different major muscle groups including your hands, forearms and
biceps.
Then your head, face, throat and shoulders.
Then your chest, stomach and lower back.
And last, your thighs, calves and feet.
To get started with this exercise, you should be comfortable
either sitting in a chair with your head supported or lying down.
Get yourself as comfortable as you can.
Let your eyes close and just think about paying attention to my voice.
As your body becomes comfortable, start thinking about how you are breathing.
It is all you should think about.
Shut everything else out of your mind.
If your attention does start to wander, that's okay.
Just bring your attention back to my voice.
Now, take a nice deep breath in.
Let it out slowly.
Focus all of your energy into thinking about each breath you take.
Let each breath fill your chest slowly and
let it out slowly.
Good.
Take nice, easy breaths.
Not too fast or too slow.
Just whatever is comfortable for you.
Now begin to notice how with each breath, your body starts to feel relaxed and calm.
With each breath out, feel your whole body become more heavy and relaxed.
Now, as you continue to breathe in and out slowly
pay attention to your left wrist.
Clench your left fist making it tighter and tighter, tighter.
Hold it.
Now relax.
Notice the difference between a tight muscle and a loose one.
Notice how good it can feel to have all the tightness out of your hand and to feel a bit
more heavy and relaxed.
Now, pay attention to your right wrist.
Clench your right fist making it tighter and tighter, tighter.
Good.
Hold it.
Now relax and let your fingers spread out.
Notice the difference between a tight muscle and a loose one.
Feel the tension leave your hands.
Now focus on your elbows and tense your biceps.
Pull your arms and fingers towards the ceiling.
Both arms together.
Tense them as much as you can and notice the feelings of tightness.
Hold it.
Now relax and straighten out both of your arms.
Let them hang loosely on your lap.
Let the relaxation flow all the way down your arms towards your fingers.
Notice how good this feels, to let the tension out of your muscles.
Now, focus on your shoulders and shrug them up towards your ears and hold it.
Now, take a deep breath,
let your shoulders relax and come back down into their natural position.
Notice the difference between the tension you felt as your head was hunched up between
your shoulders and the relaxation you now feel spreading through your neck, throat and
shoulders.
Shrug your shoulders one more time all the way up towards your ears.
Keep the tension as you hunched your head down between your shoulders.
Go ahead and hold it.
Now relax and feel the relaxation spreading through your neck, throat and shoulders.
Enjoy how loose and easy your neck can feel as it balances on your relaxed shoulders?
Now, pay attention to the muscles in your forehead.
Focus on wrinkling your forehead and brow, bringing your eyebrows down and curling up
your forehead and brow, holding it.
Good.
And now relax.
Smooth out your forehead.
Imagine that your forehead is smooth, relaxed and free of tension.
Now, focus on your head and wrinkle your forehead again as tight as you can.
Hold it.
And now, relax.
Smooth it.
Imagine that your entire forehead is smooth and relaxed.
Notice the good calm feeling of having relaxed muscles.
Now, close your eyes as tightly as comfortable.
Hold it.
And now open your eyes and let them stay gently open.
Notice the relaxation across your forehead and through your eyes.
Now, focus on your jaw.
Clench your jaw by biting your teeth together hard and notice the tension in your jaw.
Hold it.
Good.
Now relax.
Really feel the difference between tense muscles and relaxed muscles in your jaw right now.
Now press your lips together hard and notice the tension in your face.
Hold it.
Now let it go and let your mouth be comfortable and relaxed.
Notice the difference as your face becomes more relaxed and loose.
Now, put your head back so that you are looking up towards
the ceiling.
Feel the tension in the muscles in the front of your neck.
Hold it.
And now relax.
Put your head back in its normal position and feel the difference as your neck muscles
become more loose.
Now extend your head forward so that your chin is just about touching your chest.
Hold the position tensing up the muscles in the back of your neck.
Good.
Now relax and put your head back in its upright position.
Notice your neck muscles becoming more loose and more relaxed.
Now, concentrate on your back.
Arch it slightly making sure not to strain.
Focus on the tension in your lower back.
Hold it and then relax.
Let go of all the tension in the muscles of your lower back.
Notice how loose the muscles in your back can feel.
Repeat that one more time.
Concentrate on your back.
Arch it slightly focusing on the tension in your lower back.
Hold this position.
And then relax.
Let go of all the tension in the muscles of your lower back feeling the looseness and
enjoying the feeling of relaxation.
Now take a deep breath and hold it.
Notice the feeling of tightness in your chest.
Then release the breath and notice your chest muscles loosening becoming more relaxed and
more comfortable.
Now, focus on your stomach muscles.
Make them tight by pulling your stomach inward into a ball. Hold it.
And then relax. Let your stomach muscles loosen, becoming more comfortable and free of tension.
Now, curl your toes downward, making your calves tense and hold that position.
Now relax. Let your toes
come back up and enjoy the feeling of relaxation in your calves.
Notice your leg muscles feeling more loose and less tense.
Now, bend your toes upwards towards your face and create tension in your shins. Hold it.
Now relax. Let your toes back down and enjoy the feeling of heaviness and relaxation spreading
throughout your legs.
Now, point your toes again towards your face and create tension in your shins and calves.
Hold it.
And relax.
Enjoy the feeling of relaxation throughout your legs and calves.
Feel the heaviness in your entire body now.
Enjoy the feeling of relaxation.
Enjoy how good this feels when your whole body feels loose and calm and it feels good
to be in control of your body.
If there are any muscles in your body that still feel tense, you can concentrate on tensing and relaxing
that muscle group now.
When you practice progressive muscle relaxation,
go through the muscle groups in a sequence where you hold the tension for five to seven
seconds and then you relax for at least 20 seconds.