Progressive muscle relaxation for tension headaches.
Let's get comfortable.
Find a comfortable position where your body can feel supported.
You may choose to lie down.
Or sit somewhere comfortable with your head,
Neck,
And back supported.
Allow your hands to rest easy.
If it feels comfortable,
Gently close your eyes.
Before changing anything,
Simply notice how you feel.
Notice your head.
Your forehead.
Your eyes.
Your jaw.
You're nuts.
Your shoulders.
You don't need to make tension disappear.
For the next few minutes.
You're simply going to give your body the opportunity to soften.
Take a slow breath in through your nose.
And gently breathe out.
Again,
Breathe in.
And slowly breathe out.
One more time.
Inhale … And as you exhale,
Allow your body to become a little heavier.
As we move through this practice,
You'll gently tighten and then release different muscles.
Use only a small amount of effort.
There is no need to squeeze or strain.
If tightening any muscle makes your headache feel worse.
Skip the tightening completely.
And simply imagine that you are softening instead.
Let comfort guide you.
Bring your awareness to your hands.
Gently curl your fingers towards your palms.
Make a soft fist.
Nothing forceful.
Just enough to feel the muscles become active.
Hold three,
Let your fingers uncurl.
Notice the difference between holding and releasing.
Take a slow breath in.
And breathe out.
Now gently notice the difference.
In your arms and let's create a little tension through our arms.
Hold three.
Allow your arms to become heavy.
Let your hands soften.
Let your fingers relax.
Bring your attention to your shoulders.
Without changing them.
Notice where they're resting.
Maybe they've already relaxed.
Or perhaps they're sitting a little closer to your ears than you realize.
Take a gentle breath in.
As you slowly lift your shoulders towards your ears.
Exhale and release.
Let your shoulders fall away from your ears.
Notice the space that you've created between your shoulders and your head.
Again,
Gently lift the shoulders.
Hold for 3 seconds.
Imagine,
Breathe.
Allowing the weight of your shoulders to travel downwards.
Away from your ears.
Away from your head.
Let them become heavy.
Gently draw your shoulder blades toward one another,
Only a small amount of effort.
Release.
Feel the muscles across your upper back soften.
Take a slow breath in.
And as you breathe out.
Imagine the entire upper back becoming wider.
Your shoulder blades moving away from each other.
Your shoulders becoming heavy.
Your chest becoming soft.
Bring your awareness to your neck.
Rather than strongly contracting these muscles,
We're going to use very small movements.
Gently draw your chin backwards.
As if you're making the back of your neck slightly longer.
Keep the movement small.
Hold three.
Allow your head to move to its natural position.
Take a breath in.
And breathe out.
Imagine the muscles at the base of your skull beginning to soften.
You don't need to stretch them.
Or force them.
Just relax.
Imagine creating a little more space around the back of your head and neck.
Bring your attention to your jaw.
Notice whether your teeth are touching.
Notice where your tongue is resting.
Notice whether you're gripping anywhere around your mouth.
Or cheat.
Very gently bring your teeth together.
Use only enough pressure to notice the muscles around your jaw becoming active.
Hold 3,
2,
1.
Let your upper and lower teeth separate.
Let your tongue rest softly inside your mouth.
Allow your lips to rest without effort.
Take a slow breath in.
And breathe out.
Imagine your jaw becoming heavier.
Your cheeks soften.
The muscles around your ears relax.
Nothing to grip.
Nothing to clench.
Bring your attention to the muscles around your eyes.
Very gently squeeze your eyes closed.
March tightly.
Just enough to make them be active.
Hold three.
Your eyelids become soft.
Imagine the muscles surrounding your eyes spreading outward and relaxing.
Now gently raise your eyebrows.
Though your forehead become active.
Old three.
Let your forehead become smooth.
Imagine the space between your eyebrows becoming wider.
Take a slow breath in.
And breathe out.
Let your forehead soften.
Let your eyebrows soften.
Let your eyes become heavy.
Now we're going to stop creating tension and only focus on releasing it.
Imagine the muscles across your forehead softening.
Imagine the muscles around your temples relaxing.
Let your eyes become heavy.
Let your cheeks soften.
That's your job.
Hang comfortably.
Let your tongue relax.
Allow the back of your head to feel supported.
Imagine the muscles at the base of your skull becoming softer with every breath.
Inhale slowly.
And I think As you breathe out,
Imagine tension traveling downward,
Away from your forehead.
Away from your temples.
Down through your jaw.
Through your neck.
Across your shoulders.
And down your arm.
Inhale,
Create space.
Exhale.
Let it go.
Take one slightly deeper breath in.
As you inhale.
Gently tense your hands and your shoulders.
Only light me,
Lightly.
Hold three.
Exhale and release.
Let everything soften.
Your fingers.
Your hands.
Your arms.
Your shoulders.
Turn it up.
Your job.
Your cheekbones.
Your eyes.
Your forehead.
Allow your breathing to return to its natural rhythm.
Nothing to control.
Nothing to change.
Simply breathe.
Pause here for a few moments.
Notice how your body feels compared to where you began.
You don't need your headache to be completely gone for this practice to have value.
Perhaps you notice a little less tension.
A little more space.
A little more comfort.
Or simply a greater awareness of where you've been holding tension.
Take one final slow breath in.
And breathe out completely.
Soften the forehead.
Unclench the jaw.
Release the shoulders.
Begin to notice the surface underneath.
Notice the room around you.
Gently move your fingers.
Move your toes.
And when you're ready.
Slowly open your eyes.
Take your time returning to your day.
Whenever you notice tension beginning to build again.
Remember that you can return to your breath.
And give your muscles permission to release.
