Progressive Relaxation

 Advertisement

Clear a space

Take a moment to give yourself permission to rest. Mentally or physically clear a space, which is your personal territory and is not to be intruded on by worry, phone calls, or other internal or external demands. If there is anything you feel worried about, settle your mind by simply writing it down to look at later.

Begin to relax

Sit quietly and focus on your breathing for a moment. Give a few long, loud sighs, feeling that each sigh starts at the top of your head and travels down through you, coming out of the soles of your feet. Whether your eyes are open or closed, roll your eyeballs up toward the ceiling, then let them drop. Notice any tension in your body and then let go of it. Imagine that you are sending a breath of peace to every part of your body. Remind yourself that you have nothing to do, and no place to go, and nothing you need worry about just now.

Relax body and mind

Focus on each part of your body in turn, starting with your feet. First be aware of how they feel. Now tense them, and then let them relax, sending the breath of peace there. Say to yourself, 'My foot is heavy and relaxed, and as it relaxes I feel a deep sense of peace through me.' Or simply repeat, 'Heavy and warm, warm and relaxed.' Move up your body in this way, until your whole body is included in the itinerary: 'My shoulders relaxed and peaceful, my torso and legs relaxed and peaceful, my feet warm, relaxed and peaceful. ...' When you reach your face and head, include your scalp, the muscles round your eyes, your lips, tongue and throat.

Let the relaxation enter your mind. Imagine that there is a little person in your head, sweeping out all the thoughts and worries. Then he paints the inside of your brain with a white light.

Allow dark heaviness to descend and lightness to rise

If your eyes are not already closed, let them close, and imagine that your eyelids are dark, heavy blinds that are impossible to raise. Imagine that you have a dark, heavy blind at the top of your head, and pull this blind down through your body, letting the heaviness sink into the ground. Allow a feeling of lightness to emerge from the ground through your body and into your mind. Let your mind or spirit feel light, and float up, as if through a hole in the top of your head, and float out and away, like a kite in a summer sky.

Invite an image to deepen relaxation

Think of a time when you were completely relaxed and feeling good about yourself. You may have been listening to music, or doing something active like swimming in the sea. When you have conjured up this picture, step into the picture, and match your breathing to that of the relaxed you in the picture.

Alternatively, in your mind travel to a place where you have been, or could be, very happy. This can be a real place or an imagined one. In this place, there is a feeling of deep peace. Creating an inner sanctuary like this can be valuable for future visualization sessions, when you can return to your own personal haven.

Countdown to deeper relaxation

Say to yourself, I am going to count down from ten to one, and with each number I will feel more and more relaxed and more in touch with my inner self.'

Create a relaxation cue

When you feel completely at peace, allow an image-or a word-to arise that sums up this feeling, and touch together the thumb and forefinger of either hand. Say to yourself, 'As I repeat this image or word and touch, I feel more and more relaxed and at peace, and each time I use it in the future it will bring back this wonderful feeling, and the more I use it, the better it will work.'

Now practise your visualization-emerge

When you have finished your visualization session, and want to emerge from your deeply relaxed state, suggest to yourself, 'I am going to count up from one to five and with each number I will feel more and more awake, but still relaxed. When I reach five, I will open my eyes feeling relaxed and alert, as if I have woken from a long, refreshing sleep.'