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Note – If you’ve just happened to wander
onto this page from elsewhere on the web you might want to go to the previous pages labeled “Preparing for Lift-Off”,
and “Home” first to gain a sense of where this one is coming from.
After you’ve gotten yourself all settled down
and resting comfortably we’re going to go through a basic body/mind relaxation exercise to make it easier to go on your
travels into your psyche. Take this nice and slow and allow time in between each area we go through. I generally put in some
space where I want you to do this as we go through it. If I put in a symbol like this: <….> I want you to take
a little extra time.
Don’t just read through this without a stop,
and read very slowly. We want to relax you here, not win a race. There will be places indicated where you may find spending
some extra time will be useful.
And if you like, you can record this onto a tape and
listen to it so you don’t have to be reading as you go through it.
For this journey through your body/mind you may find
that some quiet gentle music may help you relax. This is one place where that’s OK – it’s up to you –
but still nothing with words.
You can do this exercise lying down, or sitting in
a comfy chair. Some parts you’ll even be able to do standing up as time goes by and you learn them well. You’ll
find different groups of muscles become involved in different ways if you’re lying or sitting. That’s ok.
And definitely don’t worry if you can’t
do this exercise “perfectly” at first, or even after some time. We all have different stress areas and have different
abilities to loosen some better than others. This just shows us our individualities. Focus on the parts that may be difficult
for you and in time they will shift. This is an old standard called a “Progressive Relaxation”….. with a
few twists and turns of my own in it. And it goes like this:
Close your eyes and take a few breaths. Just normal
breaths to begin the relaxation. You’ll find that, like most of us, you’re breathing into your chest, the usual
way people breathe without thinking.
But we’re dealing with your consciousness here
and we’re going to shift that a bit. Try taking the next few breaths down into your belly. This may sound funny to some
people, or uncomfortable, but try it this way – exhale all the air out of your lungs, and your belly.
Yes,
you’ll find that there is air in your belly and you can take your hands to press all the air out and then just relax.
You’ll find that your belly will start to enlarge again all by itself and it will begin to pull the air right down into
it. The air will simply flow all the way through your chest and down into your belly.
Do this gently a few times and then make this a more
purposeful thing. Pull the air down into your belly.
Take several deep centering breaths like this until
you find that it’s becoming natural for you. Don’t push too hard, just let it happen as much as you can.
<….>
Let those breaths relax even more into just your regular
breathing pattern, but allow the breath to go clear into your belly. Just keep breathing at your regular pace and deep into
your belly. You’ll find yourself starting to relax simply with your breath.
Now take a mental walk through your body from your
head down to your toes. See if you can feel the tension in your body – what muscles and tendons are tight, where it
hurts, where it feels nice and loose and comfortable.
Our goal here is to try to relax your body as much
as we can so it’s as little distraction as possible while you go on your exploration of your inner self, or if you need
to simply relax yourself before you go to sleep at night, or just have a need to unwind. This will help you in all these situations
if you let it.
Don’t worry about trying too hard – in
fact don’t try hard at all – let this be a “soft” exercise, merely allowing your body to move as it
will rather than forcing it. Once you get down to your toes let your consciousness stay there for a minute and take a few
deep breaths.
We’re ready to begin.
To start out, clench the muscles of your toes together
and then let them relax. Do this 2 or 3 times until you feel them start to let go of any tension that they may be holding.
Just let your toes relax for a moment and take a couple of deep breaths.
Next put your attention into your feet and do the
same thing – clench the muscles of your feet together and then let them go. Do this 2 or 3 times. You’ll find
your feet relaxing now too. Take a few more deep breaths before you continue.
Nice and easy, nice and slow.
Now bring your attention to your ankles. Ankles, like
all the joints, can hold a lot of blocked energy so take care and be gentle but persistent. Wiggle your feet back and forth
a bit. Stretch the ankles by pulling your toes towards your torso then gently pushing them away.
Roll your ankles around a few times. After a few rolls
do the same clenching and relaxing again, as we’ve done with your feet. You’ll often feel the energy releasing
off your ankles in waves. Just let it go.
I’d guess you’re getting the pattern of
these exercises now so start thinking in terms of your whole body as we continue to go through each piece of it. Feel into
your calves. Again clench the muscles in your calves. Clench and release them several times until you can feel a change in
the tightness that so often fills our legs.
After you feel you’ve gotten them relaxed you’ll
come to your knees. Knees are like ankles in that they hold a lot of energy. Put strong attention on the knees so they actually
rise up a couple inches and this drags along the whole front of the leg when you do this. So many of these things are hard
to isolate but what you can try to do with all of them is to make the area you’re working on the focus and if other
stuff comes along with it that can be Ok – it shows the interconnectedness.
So as you clench and release the muscles in your knees
also reach down with your hands and gently massage them. If you’re like most people this will feel really nice and you’ll
feel the energy shifting in them. The slight raising of your torso you’ll have to do to reach them will start shifting
the energy into it as well so do it gently but purposefully. If you’re sitting this last bit won’t happen.
If you can really concentrate on the knees you’ll
find that the buttocks rise up slightly as you clench them, especially lying down. Sitting you’ll find your calves involved.
Don’t worry about this. It’s all connected anyway remember.
Do this for a couple of minutes until they start to
relax and then move your consciousness on
up into your thighs. You’re going to be using your hands off and on as we continue so, as you gently run your hands
up and down over your thighs you will feel them relax while you also clench and release them. Again you may find that other
parts of the body are pulled in by the movement of your thighs but it’s ok and gives an extra stretch to those areas.
Take a few more deep breaths and rest a minute.
We’re almost ½ way through your body now but
things are getting more complicated as we continue. The next big area of energy constriction is in the hips, buttocks and
groin area. In between your legs is a space called the perineal floor. You’ll be using the same muscles to relax all
the various parts of this area but we’ll look at each of them separately even as we tie them all together through the
action of the muscles.
Reach down with your hands and gently massage the
perineal floor as you clench with your groin and buttock muscles. This is an exercise that is also called a Kegel and it is
used to strengthen the muscles in the area. It can also be done as a separate exercise anytime you think of it – sitting,
standing, even walking. It’s known to improve ones sex life so don’t be shy about doing this one.
After you feel more relaxed here put your attention
on your buttocks and continue to clench and relax them, just as you’ve started with the Kegel, but think about relaxing
the buttock muscles this time rather than the perineum. Using your hands to massage these muscles will also release energy
and help you focus on them instead of the other areas.
Now move your massaging hands under your hips to your
sacrum, at the base of your spine. This is a big area for energy to build up and massaging it as you continue to clench and
release the whole panel of muscles you’ve been working on will help with relaxing it.
You will notice you’ve also been using the muscles
in the front of your groin. To help bring your attention there try rubbing your hands along the inside of your thighs and
then move them on up to the general area just below your belly button. Massaging these spots will help them to release too.
This is very comforting so do it for awhile. It’s
both relaxing and pleasurable and all that is useful in relaxation.
Now you’ve gotten some relaxation for the whole
of this complicated area which is, in effect, the “hinge” between the top and bottom halves of your body.
By working on each of these areas separately and focusing
on them one at a time you will have changed the quality of tension there considerably. It’s been a lot of work and it’s
time to take a bit of a break and just breathe and feel how much more relaxed your entire lower body is feeling now.
<….>
Ok, it’s time to move on up the rest of your
body. Remember to keep breathing as you go through these explanations of what you’re doing and why. Use it as extra
time to relax.
So far we’ve been doing the front and back of
your body at the same time. We’re gong to continue that but will also take one side at a time here and there.
The first area we’ll address is your lower back.
This is one of the places most likely to hold a lot of tension, and even pain, in most people. It’s such an easy place
to hurt and so many of us have done that. If you’re injured here you need to go real slow with these exercises. They’re
meant to be gentle so it shouldn’t be too hard.
Start by simply breathing deeply into your belly for
a few minutes. When you’re feeling nice and calm place your hands on your lowerbelly, directly above the lower spine.
This will help transfer some calming, warming energy down through the area.
It’s a little hard to clench the spine and you’ll
find that you’ll be moving the whole area starting at the sacrum and up into the middle of your back.
Gently move your attention on your breath down through
your belly down into the spine below. Clench and release, clench and release several times, but be gentle. You’ll find
your belly will probably move with this too, but again, that’s OK.
Now allow the breath awareness to come back up into
your belly. There’s a lot going on there so keep your hands on it while you breath.
Move them up to the middle of the belly and they’ll
help you feel how well you’re moving and relaxing the muscles as you clench and relax the stomach. This is one of the
more dramatic movements you’ll be making as there may be a lot of play in the lower abdomen to work with also.
Do this a few times until you can feel the energy
moving gently in a clockwise direction, assisting your digestion. You can rub your hands around in this direction as well.
All together this will relax you nicely.
As you move your hands on up to the sternum at the
bottom of your ribcage continue to envision the energy in its swirl around your belly.
Let the warmth of your hands release the energy both
in your stomach and in your spine. Let your hands just rest here for a few minutes and breathe deeply and slowly into your
belly.
<….>
When you feel like its time to move on, bring your
hands up onto your ribcage, onto your chest. This is an area where the front and back will tend to move together. In fact
you may find that your whole body gets involved in this space. That’s ok, it just means we’ve been successful
in relaxing your lower half.
Continue to clench and relax the ribs and the spine
beneath them. Your hands will again be assisting the relaxation and a bit of gentle massage will help free up any stuck energy
here.
Now bring your hands up to the top of your ribs and
interlace your fingers together just below your neck. This will tie your ribs and chest into your arms and hands, and your
back and spine in with them as well.
It’s a very tightly connected area and separating
the parts out very specifically may be difficult. So allow yourself some room to move and be gentle with yourself –
both physically and emotionally - if these seem hard to do. They sometimes are.
Allow your breath to move into your hands and arms
as it travels down to your stomach. Start moving your fingers and hands together as you hold them over your ribs and lungs,
sort of like washing your hands.
This will massage all parts of the hands and free
a lot of energy. You’ll be moving a large area as you do this as it will call your arm muscles into play, as well as
your upper back and shoulder muscles. All of it will get moved just by twining your fingers back and forth on your ribs.
It’s important to take note of the wrists. As
I’ve mentioned before with joints a lot of energy gets stuck there. After you’ve done some of the “hand-washing”
take the wrist of one hand into the other hand and massage it with the free hand. You’ll feel immediate release.
After a bit of this, switch to the other side. Try
to check into one area at a time.
As this starts to free up energy put your attention
onto your arms and specifically clench and relax those muscles and let the hands relax. Just let your arms clench and relax.
You’ll find that once this area has been loosened
this way that your arms will move more independently than they did before.
Now move both your consciousness and your hands to
the back of your upper spine. Once again just hold your hands quietly there and let the warmth they’re generating travel
down into the spine for a bit.
<….>
You can also use the hands to massage the shoulders
a bit. This is the other major place that people tend to hold energy. As you gently massage the area, and consciously put
your attention on your shoulders to relax by clenching and releasing them, you should feel a releasing of energy that may
make you moan with pleasure. Go for it. This is to enjoy you know.
You may find that your stomach muscles will want to
get involved here. This is another connection that is ok. You’ll find moving the back and spine muscles pulls the stomach
along, similar to the way I described emptying your lungs and letting them fill with air earlier. These parts are all connected.
Once you’ve been able to clench and release
your upper spine and back muscles and are not pulling in the stomach so much this will complete the relaxation of your torso.
Just lie there with your hands on your ribs for awhile
taking deep breaths and allow the breath to move into your belly as well as your hands and arms and chest, and even to the
whole length of your spine.
Gently remove your hands from your ribs and let them
relax at your side. Notice if there is any lingering tension. If there is you can clench and relax the arms, hands and fingers,
but if they feel ok let them be. Just continue to bask in the warmth of this relaxation for a few minutes as you continue
to breathe smooth and easy.
<….>
It’s time for the last and definitely most complex
area of your body to relax – your head, including your brain. You’ve been breathing easily for some time now so
you should be in a mild glowing state already and that’s what we want for your head, inside and out.
Bring your hands up and gently massage your whole
head for a couple minutes. Be sure to touch every part of it, from the back of the neck to your hair and face and neck. Now
let your arms relax again at your sides.
Take a few deep breaths, then begin to roll your head
slowly side to side. Don’t push this as we want to loosen up the neck some here before we get up onto the head. You
might want to take your hands and gently massage the neck as you roll it gently back and forth. This will help prepare you
for the next steps.
One of the areas of your body that also carries a
lot of tension contains the most complex muscle set in your body – this is your jaws. There are a lot of muscles there
and many people hold considerable tension in the jaws, causing countless headaches and serious pain. Relaxing them takes some
time but it really makes a difference.
Start by simply opening and closing your mouth a few
times. Do Not push to make them open wider than they will easily. Notice how far you can open them, or how little. Do this
several times.
Now open them to a comfortable place and gently move
the lower part of your jaw back and forth a few times.
Close your mouth and then see if you can gently open
your mouth wider. Do this back and forth a few times until you feel you’ve gotten your jaws to relax some. You should
be able to open your mouth quite a bit further, but still, do Not push it.
Now make some silly faces. Seriously. Scrunch up your
mouth and nose and eyebrows and look silly. Try moving your face around in all the different permutations you can find. Let
it be fun. Giggle if you like.
Adding a bit of sound at this point is another way
to allow yourself to relax more. The sounds you make break up energy in the body and it’s a great way to help you relax,
so feel free to just make some tones or nonsense words.
After you’ve done the scrunching for awhile
just stop and take some breaths. Your face will feel a lot less tight and your state of mind will have shifted a bit too –
the more so the more you may giggle and laugh at how silly you’re acting. This affects the inner brain as well as your
exterior.
Silly is good. Silly loosens up a serious mind better
than most other things. It’s part of the exercise of releasing the mind so do it with gentle gusto.
You’ll also be moving almost all of the muscles
of your head, as well as quite a few in your brain that will carry along with your outer movements. Let it happen easily.
Loosening up the brain is as important as relaxing the body.
An uptight mind doesn’t help you take in new
ideas. But a silly one can contemplate changes in your whole life.
You can also take your hands and scrub your face,
like you’re washing it. Your scrunching does the same things as the clenching does.
And don’t forget your scalp. There’s a
lot of energy in the scalp and it affects the brain inside by relaxing it. You can help it relax some more by gently running
your hands through your hair and tickling and gently scratching the area.
And don’t forget your ears. It’s pretty
hard to wiggle your ears unless you know how, but you can massage them quite easily and they’ll release plenty of energy
for you.
Roll your head around a bit on your shoulders some
more and keep giggling for a few minutes and then just stop. Stop it all and take another walk through your body. Take your
time.
<….>
How does it feel compared to when you first did this
at the beginning of the exercise. I’m suspecting you feel a lot different. And if you still feel some tension in places
don’t worry too much about it. This is simple relaxation, not a cure-all. But it can help a lot to put you in the state
for those healing possibilities.
Whether you’ve done this exercise to prepare
for a guided journey, to relax yourself from a trying day at work or to get ready to sleep well you’re going to be in
better shape.
Remember that you can do most of these exercises pretty
much anywhere you happen to be. Maybe not to the fullness of what we do here, but you can do enough to help you out when things
get too heavy or stress you out too much.
These are valuable tools you’ve just learned.
You can change how you’re feeling- all by yourself – whenever you need to. Just by relaxing. Pretty cool huh…
If you’ve been listening to this on tape, it’s
time now to open your eyes and wake up. And you’re gonna wake up feeling more relaxed, more open to new possibilities
and ready for whatever it is you’re about to do.
The world is waiting. Have fun!
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