Sit back or lie down in a comfortable position,
Choosing to close your eyes if you're comfortable doing so,
Or resting them in a soft gaze at a point in front of you.
Begin by bringing your awareness to the breath,
Not trying to change the breath,
But just noticing the breath going in and the breath going out.
Perhaps,
Making the breaths a bit longer on the out-breath,
And along with the out-breath,
Allowing tension to leave the body.
Taking a breath in and holding,
And then slowly releasing the air.
Even slower now,
Taking another breath,
Filling your lungs,
And holding.
Slowly releasing the breath,
And imagining tension leaving the body.
Beginning the progressive muscle relaxation by bringing your attention to the feet.
Begin to tense your feet by curling your toes and the arch of your foot,
Holding on to the tension,
Noticing what that feels like.
Releasing any tension in the foot,
And noticing any feelings of relaxation that might be arising.
Next,
Beginning to focus on the lower legs.
Tense the muscles in your calves,
Hold them tightly,
Paying attention to the tension feelings.
And release the tension from the lower legs,
Again,
Noticing any feelings of relaxation.
And remembering to continue to take the breaths.
Next,
Tense the muscles of the upper leg and pelvis.
You can do this by tightly squeezing your thighs together.
Again,
Making sure you're tense,
But not going to the point of strain.
And release,
Feeling the tension leave the muscles of the upper leg,
Beginning to tense your stomach and chest,
Perhaps sucking the stomach in.
Squeezing in and holding the tension,
A little bit longer.
And release,
Allowing the body to go limp,
And again noticing any sensations of relaxation that might be arising.
Continuing to take deep breaths,
Perhaps noticing the air filling your lungs and holding it.
Releasing the air slowly,
Feeling it leave your lungs.
Next,
Tense the muscles in your back,
Perhaps bringing your shoulders together behind you,
Holding them tightly,
Tensing them as hard as you can,
And hold.
Releasing the tension from your back,
Feeling the tension slowly leaving your body,
And new feelings of relaxation.
Noticing,
Perhaps,
How different your body feels when you're bringing in the relaxation.
Tensing up your arms all the way from your hands to your shoulders.
Make a fist and squeeze all the way up the arm and hold.
Release the tension from your arms and shoulders.
Noticing feelings of relaxation in the fingers,
The hands,
The arms,
The shoulders.
Noticing what it feels like to have the arms limp and at ease.
Moving up to the neck and the head.
Tensing your facial and neck muscles,
Perhaps moving the muscles around your eyes and mouth.
Releasing the tension.
Again,
Noticing feelings of relaxation.
Finally,
Tensing the entire body,
The feet,
The legs,
The stomach,
The chest,
The arms,
Head,
Neck.
Not straining,
But continuing to tense,
Holding it there.
And release,
Allowing the whole body to go limp.
Paying attention to these feelings of relaxation and the difference between these feelings and feelings of tension.
This completes the exercise,
So when you feel ready,
Moving slowly to adjust.
And bringing the practice to a close by opening your eyes,
If they have been closed,
When you're ready.
