Basic Instructions
Relaxation is the opposite of tension. The
following exercise can be a tool for you to use to control tension
and enhance relaxation in both your body and your mind. It will
probably be most useful to you if you or a friend would tape record
the following exercise and listen to it rather than to just try to
read and remember the various parts of the exercise. Read the
exercise slowly with pauses to allow the relaxation to occur. If
you do make a tape for yourself, please remember to use it only when
you are sitting or lying comfortably at home or where you are not
needing to be involved in an activity requiring you to be fully
alert. Do not use the tape while operating any kind of machinery,
including cars. One of the main activities suggested in this
exercise involves alternatively tensing and relaxing muscle groups.
Put enough tension into the muscles to make them tense, but not
enough to cause pain. Feeling pain means that you are tensing too
much.
Tension Reducing Exercise
Settle back and get as comfortable as you
possibly can. Close your eyes gently. Tune in to your breathing.
(Pause) Notice it's pace and rhythm. (Pause) take
another breath, a little deeper this time, letting yourself feel
completely calm, peaceful, comfortable and relaxed. (Pause)
Now , with the rest of your body feeling more and more comfortable
and relaxed, slowly clench your right fist. Clench it tighter and
tighter and study the tension. Keep it clenched and feel the
tension in your fist, hand, and forearm. (Short Pause) Now
let your hand relax and go limp, allowing your fingers to become
loose. Notice the contrast between the feeling of tension and now
the feeling of relaxation. (Short Pause) Let your whole body
go and relax even more completely. (Short Pause) Now bend
both of your elbows and tense your biceps. Tense them hard until
they almost quiver. Hold them tight and study the tension. (Short
Pause) Now let your arms straighten out and drop gently to your
sides. go limp, feeling heavy and relaxed. Notice the tension
leave your muscles and experience relaxation that replaces the
tension. Let the feeling flow and spread into the rest of your body
so that you feel peaceful and calm. Feel yourself becoming more
and more relaxed. (Pause) (From this point onward, pause
where it seems appropriate to allow enough time for the tensing and
relaxing to occur.)
Focus all your attention on your neck, your
shoulders, and your upper back. As you breathe, imagine that you
are releasing tension from your neck, shoulders, and upper back.
With each breath you take, feel your neck, shoulders, and upper back
grow heavier and more and more relaxed. As you release tension in
your arms, neck, shoulders, and upper back, feel the wave of
relaxation moving downwards through your torso, lower back and
stomach. With each breath, you become more and more relaxed.
Now tighten and flex the muscles in your
buttocks and thighs. You can flex your thighs by pressing down on
your heels with your toes in the air. Hold the tension. Keep the
muscles tight and tense. now let go. Relax and notice the
difference as you let your hips and thighs relax and allow that
feeling to proceed on its own until you feel completely and deeply
relaxed.
Now press your toes straight out away from your
body as if you were on tiptoes. Feel the muscles in your calves
become taught and tense. Hold the tension. Study the tension and
now relax. Feel the difference between the tension and the
delightful, calm, peaceful feeling of being deeply relaxed. Feel
the heaviness of your entire lower body as you relax further still.
If you wish, you can become even more deeply
relaxed by merely taking a deep breath and slowly exhaling. As you
breath deeply, feel your entire body become heavy, comfortable and
relaxed. Think the following thoughts to yourself: "I feel quiet.
I am feeling deeply relaxed. My body feels calm and quiet. My
neck, my jaws, my forehead are all calm and smooth. My whole body
is heavy, comfortable, relaxed, and quiet. My arms and hands are
heavy and warm. I am at peace." (At this point, give yourself a
few more minutes of deep relaxation before moving on toward ending
the relaxation session.)
(Ending the experience) Take a deep
breath, wiggle your toes and open your eyes. when you do so you
will feel refreshed and calm.
Enhancing the Experience
You can practice deepening this feeling of
relaxation by taking deep breaths and releasing tension with each
exhalation and imagining a wave of relaxation moving from the top of
your head to the ends of your toes. As you become aware, through
this exercise, of different muscle groups and how deliberately you
can control the experience of tension and relaxation in your
muscles, you increase your capacity to relax. In similar fashion,
each time you practice this relaxation exercise you will find it
more familiar and easier to use.
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