Progressive Relaxation
by Allison Suran

Relaxing your body and your mind, this exercise is a perfect prelude to sleep. If you prefer, you can listen to an audio version of this exercise by clicking here.

Preparation:
BREATH: With each area of the body you will very gently and lightly tighten or imagine tightening the muscles around that area and relaxing them. As you tighten, go slow, breath in, and count to 3. (Using a numbered count helps evenly pace your inhalation and exhalation.) As you exhale, again count to 3, as you relax the same area and any other area that you notice you have held tense. You will repeat this 2-3 times for each area.

Lying In a Comfortable Position: As you go through this exercise, it's ok to change positions if you're managing painful areas of your body. Do not feel like you have to stay completely still or locked in the first position you start with.

You will begin with a few deep cleansing breaths. Begin counting as you inhale and determine what pace works well for you. It may sound like this in your head:

Inhale, 1, 2, 3…

Exhale, 1, 2, 3…

Inhale, 1, 2, 3….

Exhale, 1, 2, 3...

Also, as you relax more and more, you may notice that your breathes take longer, so feel free to change the number, ie; Inhale 2, 3, 4, 5, 6….Exhale, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6….etc

Ready to Begin:
Being with 3 to 5 cleansing breaths and finding your pace.

Bring your attention to your toes. Gently and lightly tighten your toes as you inhale and exhale. Tighten and relax 3 times.

Next bring your attention to your whole foot, including the toes. Gently tighten and relax in pace with your breathing. Repeat 3 times.

Progress to your calf. Tighten the whole calf and relax 3 times. Then tighten and relax your calf, foot, and toes all together for 3 repetitions.

Next move up your leg to your thigh. Try to think about the front, back and sides of your thigh. Tighten and relax 3 times, then include the thigh with the rest of the lower leg, foot and toes for 3 repetitions.

Continue moving up your body tightening and relaxing first the localized region, and then including everything that you've tightened and relaxed up to that point. Notice if other areas of your body (arms, neck, face, jaw) are tensing and allow them to stay relaxed. If other areas of your body are tensing, you may be putting too much effort into the relaxation of the localized regions.

Continue up to your:
Hips and Buttocks
Abdomen
Chest
Shoulders
Arms
Neck
Face

People rarely get all the way to their face before falling asleep. However, if you are someone that suffers from insomnia, you know that even this may not facilitate sleep. However, even when not sleeping, this activity can give your mind something relaxing to attend to while minimizing the unending thoughts, worries, and physical pains.