Welcome to this progressive muscle relaxation practice.
Begin by finding a comfortable position either seated or lying down,
Whatever feels best for you in this moment.
Let your hands rest gently in your lap or at your sides.
When you're ready,
Gently close your eyes or lower your gaze.
Take a deep breath in and slowly exhale.
Feel your body begin to settle.
We'll now move through the body one area at a time,
Gently tensing and releasing muscle groups.
If you're unable to tense a specific area,
That's okay.
Simply focus on the sensation of relaxing it,
Starting with your hands.
Make fists and squeeze tightly.
Inhale,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
And exhale,
Release.
Notice the difference between tension and relaxation.
Moving to your arms,
Bend your elbows,
Bringing your forearms in toward your upper arms.
Flex and tense your arm muscles.
Inhale,
Squeeze and hold,
And exhale,
Release.
Noticing the sensations in your arms as you release.
Lift your shoulders up toward your ears.
Inhale and hold,
Tensing the shoulders up.
And on the exhale,
Release,
Letting your shoulders drop away from your ears.
Now your face.
Scrunch all of your facial muscles in toward your nose.
Squeeze your eyes shut,
Wrinkle your nose,
Tighten your mouth and jaw.
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
Squeeze,
And exhale,
Release.
Softening your forehead,
Softly parting your lips and softening your jaw.
Bring your awareness to your stomach.
Gently tense your belly in tight,
As if you were bracing for impact.
Tense,
Tense,
Tense on the in-breath,
And exhale,
Release.
Feel your abdomen expand with your next breath.
Moving to your legs and feet.
Tense your entire right leg,
Squeezing your thighs and calves and flexing your toes.
Perhaps the entire leg lifts off of the ground or seat.
Inhale,
Squeeze,
Hold,
And exhale,
Let it drop down to the floor.
Now tensing your left leg,
Squeezing the thighs and calf muscles to the bone.
Maybe the leg lifts up.
Inhale,
Squeeze and hold.
Exhale,
Let it release to the floor.
Notice the difference here between tension and relaxation.
Now bring your awareness to your whole body,
And on an inhale,
Tense and squeeze everything in the face,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Abdomen,
And legs.
Tense,
Tense,
Tense,
And exhale,
Release,
And let everything go.
Notice the difference between tension and relaxation.
Gently scanning your entire body now.
Notice what feels different.
Notice where you feel soft,
Grounded,
At ease,
And notice any residual areas of tension without judgment.
Let your breath return to its natural rhythm.
Inhale,
Ease,
And exhale,
Tension.
When you're ready,
Gently wiggle your fingers and toes and open your eyes if they were closed.
Acknowledge you've just given yourself a moment of care,
Knowing you can return to this practice anytime,
Anywhere.
