|
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Again, it's a good idea to tape this portion on a tape or CD and to ask your buddy or someone else to read it to you. Ideally your buddy will read it slowly, with a low voice tone to encourage relaxation. Soon you will learn to do this on your own.
Get as comfortable as possible. This exercise will help you relax all of your muscles. It will also teach you to be more aware of parts of your body that are especially tense and show you how to relieve most stress. The object of this exercise is to tense and then release the pressure in different muscles. In this way, you will progressively achieve deeper relaxation.
Start by raising your eyebrows as high as possible, feeling the tension build. Hold that tension for a moment. Now relax, and feel the tension flow out. Now squeeze your eyes shut as tight as you can. Hold that tension. Let it build. Now relax your eyelids. Feel the relief from the tension.
Now clench your teeth together tightly. Let the tension build. Hold it. Now release your jaw, letting it go loose. Now squeeze your whole face up into a knot and hold it there. Hold it. Let the tension build as you squeeze your eyes, mouth and nose together hard. And now relax. Notice how loose and relaxed your whole face feels.
Now bring your chin slowly down toward your chest, feeling the tension building in your neck and shoulders. Hold it. And now relax. Feel the relief.
Now make your right hand into a tight fist and raise your right arm to shoulder height, stretching it way out. Feel the tension build as you clench your fist and keep your arm stretched. Now relax, letting your arm fall slowly to your side.
Now with you left hand make a hard fist. Raise your left arm to shoulder height, stretching it out as far as you can, straight ahead. Feel the tension build in your clenched fist and arm. Hold it. Now relax, letting your arm fall back to your side. Now, make fists with both hands and raise both arms to shoulder height, stretching straight ahead as far as you can. Let the tension build. Hold it. Now, let your arms fall back to your sides and relax. Feel the relief in these muscles.
Now, to your stomach. Pull these muscles in tight, as tight as you can. Hold it. Let the tension build. And now, relax.
Now, raise your right leg, tensing your thigh and calf muscles and pulling your toes back toward you. Hold it. Feel the tension build. Now, let your leg back down and relax. Now, raise you left leg and tighten your calf and thigh muscles as you pull your toes back. Let the tension build. Hold it. Now, let your leg back down and relax. Now raise both legs together and tighten your calf and thigh muscles as you extend your toes and point them straight forward as far as you can. Let the tension build. Hold it. Now let your legs back down and relax. Feel the sense of relief.
Now, take a few moments to think about how the muscles feel throughout your body. Check your neck, shoulders, arms, chest, stomach, legs and feet.
Now, spend a few moments experiencing the deeply relaxed restful feeling throughout your body. Sense the quiet and restfulness that comes from releasing the tension in your muscles. Now, take a full deep breath, hold it a moment, and then, as you let out the air allow any remaining anxieties and tensions to just flow away. You are now very deeply relaxed and at ease. Now, open your eyes, stretch your arms and legs, moving them about. Get up when you feel ready.
Peace!
__________________
IMAGINE
|