I'm going to be taking you through a relaxation exercise
known as progressive muscle relaxation or PMR
PMR is a practice to help relieve your body of tension and in this practice you will tense
various groups of muscles as you breathe in and you will relax them as you breathe out
We will work through the muscle groups in certain order but feel free to skip certain
muscle groups if you have an injury or concern it will be uncomfortable
In order to begin this practice I'd like you to start by getting settled comfortably in a chair
or by lying comfortably on a bed You may want to remove glasses if you wear them
and make sure you loosen any restrictive clothing
If you're comfortable let's begin by closing your eyes
and focus your attention on the rhythm of your breathing
Bring your attention to the feelings in your body as you settle in
Perhaps you notice how your feet feel on the floor
or notice the way your arms are resting
And we will begin today's exercise by tensing the muscles in both of your feet, by curling
your toes as tightly as you can and hold this position as you study the tension in your feet
and now uncurl your toes and relax the muscles of your feet
Gently notice the difference between the tension and the relaxation
Now let's try that again
When you breathe in curl your toes as tightly as you can and hold that tension
and continue to breathe gently while you hold that tension
And on your next exhale uncurl your toes and relax the muscles of your feet, good
And now you can tense the muscles in both of your lower legs focusing on your calves
Hold that tension, keep holding it
And now let go of the tension and relax your lower legs
Let yourself become more and more relaxed
And once again tense the muscles in both of your lower legs focusing on your calves
And now relax
And now I'd like you to tense the muscles of your thighs
Hold that tension Hold the tension
And now let go of the tension and relax the muscles of your thighs
Allow yourself to feel relaxed
You may even start to feel a little drowsy and that's all right
As you think of being relaxed, of letting go of your muscles,
they will become more loose and heavy and relaxed
And now I want you to tense the muscles in your abdominal region by drawing in your stomach
muscles tightly as you can without causing pain Attempt to hold this tension for a few moments
even as you continue to breathe gently [Music]
And now let that tension go
Note the pleasant feelings of warmth and heaviness coming into your body
as those muscles relax just a little bit more You can perhaps even imagine a warm healing wave
moving through your muscles as you tense and relax them
Perhaps you'd like to focus on this feeling of warmth as you once again
tense the muscles in your abdominal region by drawing your stomach muscles in tightly
Hold this tension Keep holding it if you can
And now imagine all of the muscles letting go as you relax all of
the tension leaving your muscles And now you can tense the muscles in
both lower arms and hands by making fists with both of your hands and holding it
Study the tension in the back of your hands and in your arm
And then relax your hands Notice the tension and the relaxation
Now let's try that again When you inhale make a fist and
tense all of the muscles in your hands and arms while you continue to breathe gently
And when you exhale uncurl your fingers and relax And next I want you to tense the muscles in
your chest by taking in a deep breath and holding it [Music]
Hold your breath [Music] and then let it out very slowly
Your breathing is regular and relaxed [Music]
With each breath you take in your relaxation increases
Each time you exhale you are breathing out tension
And every time you inhale you are breathing in relaxation
Note the pleasant feelings of warmth and heaviness coming
into your body as your muscles relax completely
And next I want you to tense the muscles in your shoulders and upper back by hunching your
shoulders up towards your ears And hold that position
And now you can relax your shoulders
We tend to carry a lot of our tension and stress in our shoulders
so just like with our stomach we're going to practice this one again
Tense the muscles in your shoulders and upper back
by hunching those shoulders up towards your ears [Music] hold that tension
And now relax your shoulders and let them drop Good
And now let's focus on the muscles of your face squeeze your eyes tightly shut and
allow your nose forehead and mouth to scrunch as you tense all of the muscles in your face
Hold that
tension while you breathe gently in and out [Music] and release the tension and relax [Music]
notice the difference between the tension and the relaxation
Squeeze your eyes tight and allow the nose, forehead and mouth to scrunch
as you once again tense all of the muscles in your face
Hold that tension
And let it go and relax
Good you are becoming more and more comfortably relaxed
And now I want you to relax all of the muscles in your body
Just let the muscles become more and more relaxed Your breathing is gentle and regular [Music]
And I want you to remain in this very relaxed state
and I just want you to focus gently on your breathing for a few moments
Good [Music]
And now you're going to return to your everyday life
knowing that anytime you need to you can practice progressive muscle relaxation
Just continue to breathe out and I will count from five to one and when I get to
one you can open your eyes and continue your day feeling relaxed, refreshed and healthy
Five Four
Three Two
And one Eyes open, aware and relaxed