Session 11 - progressive muscle relaxation

Some people lead busy and stressful lives which manifests in body and muscle tension.


This session is going to help you develop an effective way to systematically relax your body.


Progressive muscle relaxation  teaches you how to relax your muscles through a two- step process. First, you systematically tense particular muscle groups in your body, such as your neck and shoulders. Next, you release the tension and notice how your muscles feel when you relax them. 


This exercise will help you to lower your overall tension and stress levels and help you relax.


Through practice you can learn to distinguish between the feelings of a tensed muscle and a completely relaxed muscle. Then, you can begin to “cue” this relaxed state at the first sign of the muscle tension that accompanies negative feelings and emotions. 


By tensing and releasing, you learn not only what relaxation feels like but also to recognise when you are starting to get tense when you are being reactive to thoughts, situations or people.

Progressive muscle relaxation

Your mindfulness practice for this session is to learn about the progressive muscle relaxation exercise, (PMR) and the audio recording at the top of this page.


Enjoy the PMR exercise as a formal practice on 3 consecutive days and thereafter when you feel you might benefit from relaxing the whole of your body maybe after a busy day at work or when you notice you feel stressed or tense.


This exercise encourages you to be mindful of each muscle group as you tense and relax them. You deliberately focus on the tensing part of the exercise and equally, as you relax the tensed area you stay with the feeling of the relaxed muscle.


Some people like to use this practice at the start of a day before work or even at the end of the working today to create an effective gap between work and home life.


Others like to use this on holidays. By the time we get to go on holidays there can be so much stress and tension that we take away with us that we can find it difficult to relax or switch off.


Whichever way you want to utilise the progressive muscle relaxation exercise is your choice but do create the awareness where it will best serve you.

 

Listen with headphones


It is recommended that you listen to any audio recordings or mindfulness guiding meditations with headphones and in a place where you will not be disturbed just so you can devote your attention to the audio.


Never whilst driving


Because of the calming nature of some of the recordings you must never play any of the recordings whilst driving for your safety and the safety of others.

  • Getting in to the right mindset for your session

    • Schedule your practice time that fits in with your day. This is also to include settling in time and reflection time when you finish.

    • Find a place where you will not be disturbed.

    • Settle in to a comfortable position before starting the session.

    • You may find you get distracted during your session. This is normal. When you notice distraction, label the distraction just a distraction and bring your awareness back to your mindfulness practice.

    • When you finish your session give yourself a minute or two to reorientate yourself back to your environment.

    • Allow time for reflection and when you feel ready return back to your daily activities.


    • If you notice sabotaging thoughts to put you off your practice gently remind yourself that you are participating in a mindfulness course that the intention is to deliberately focus your attention on the present moment free from judgement.

The guided recording

Below is the guided recording for the muscle relaxation exercise. It lasts for approximately 15 minutes.


As with all your mindfulness sessions it is important to schedule your practice time and not just to try and fit it in.


Mindfulness and meditation means paying attention with the sole focus of attention being the mindfulness session and not anything else.

An extra relaxation session

(The progressive relaxation exercise)

Moving on from the formal progressive muscle relaxation exercise, this 2nd part of the session introduces you to an equally enjoyable general relaxation session.


This is an enjoyable way of relaxing mind and body and can be listened to whenever you feel you'd like to spend some time with a mindful and relaxing recording. We could say some quality 'you time!'


Meditate with the audio once as a formal and scheduled practice with headphones in a comfortable place where you will not be disturbed and thereafter return back to this relaxation exercise when you choose.


This is not a formal mindfulness practice but a useful addition to your mindfulness toolbox to enjoy 20 minutes of peace and relaxation.

Progressive relaxation guided session

  • Taking time each day fro reflection

    Mindful awareness is an important factor to recognise where mindfulness can have its best impact. 


    Some people practice mindfulness purely because they choose to do this as a form of self-improvement.


    Others embark on mindfulness practice because of of negative autopilot habits. With this in mind it would be helpful to relect on:


    • How has my day been today?

    • How have I felt?

    • How have my thoughts been? 

    • What has impacted on me?

    • How have I reacted to thoughts, feelings, situations or people?

    BE HONEST WITH YOURSELF AND YOUR REFLECTIONS. BE AWARE WHERE YOU BLAME OUTSIDE INFLUENCES AND LEARN TO TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR WELLBEING.


    You do not want to let countless autopilot moments pass by without recognition of negative stimuli that comes your way. If this was to happen, your mindfulness practice will find it hard to find a home.


    You might find it helpful to make some notes in a jouranl so you can train your mind to recognise where being more mindful will be of most enefit to you and others.

  • Choosing to be more mindful

    Being Mindful is a Choice. 


    You can choose to continue your autopilot habits of behaviour or you can choose to be more mindful of your experiences.


    As you go through your day start to pay more atention to where you could be more mindful:


    • Pay more attention to thoughts whether you are worrying, being critical or judgemental. Maybe you are catastrophising. 

    • Pay more attention to bodily feelings and sensations. Where in your body do you experience unpleasant feelings? 

    • Be more aware of how you are feeling: sad, angry, fearful, anxious, stressed.

    • Be more aware how your autopilot mind wishes you to respond.

    Your mindfulness practice so far has enabled you to be in the moment with the object of practice including: The breath, eating and your senses.


    During your mindfulness practice, you have been encouraged to practice being in the moment with these, being observent of your experience, feeling the experience and staying in the moment whilst bringing yourself back from distraction when it occured.


    The aim is to help you use the same philosophy when negative stimuli comes your way.

     

    We want to help you learn how to observe a thought and recognise it as a thought...no thought is permanent and we can let it pass through.


    Bodily and emotional sensations are learned habits. Observing the presence of bodily feelings and sensations helps us to be less reactive to them.


    Being aware of our emotions helps us to step back from them rather than play them out.


    When we can become more aware of our intended responses we have the opportunity to create a more mindful response.

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