Click the play button below to listen to our audio!

Or if you’d prefer, you can read the exercise below.

The Body Scan is a simple way to relax.

Find a quiet place.

Get into a comfortable position.

The Body Scan

Close your eyes.

Allow your mind to become aware of your forehead.

Then allow your awareness to travel down your face, past your eyes, cheeks, and jaw, relaxing any parts that feel tense.

Continue down the back of your neck, your shoulders, your arms, hands, and fingers, relaxing any parts that feel tense.

Then down your chest to your legs and all the way down through your feet.

Relax any parts that feel tense.

Repeat slowly, and as long as it feels good.

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Note:

We recommend doing a quick body scan whenever you have a chance.

Notice how more relaxed you can feel after doing it, even one time.

Longer exercises, when you want really deep relaxation, usually last 10 to 20 minutes.

Repeat as often as you like, throughout your day.

Click the play button below to listen to our audio!

Or if you’d prefer, you can read the exercise below.

This exercise is called “Deep Muscular Relaxation.”

The idea is to use different muscle groups to learn how to relax.

Step 1) Tense each muscle group for 5-10 seconds

Step 2) Notice what the tension feels like

Step 3) Relax (about 10-15 seconds). Let your muscles go totally loose and let the tension go completely.

Step 4) Notice the difference between tensing and relaxing.  When you feel tense during your day, tense the muscles involved and then relax them.

We’ll practice with three muscle groups now:

Deep Muscular Relaxation

• Tighten your right hand by making a fist and squeezing hard enough to feel the tension, but not so hard that it hurts. Then relax. Do this twice with the right hand. Repeat with the left hand.
• Forearms and back of hands. With your right arm resting on the chair and the back of your hand facing up, bend your hand at the wrist, pointing your fingers straight up. Study the tension this creates in the back of your hand and forearm. Repeat. Now do it with the left hand and arm.
• Flex large muscles in your upper arm by trying to touch your right shoulder with your right fist, tightening the biceps. Repeat. Right arm first, then left.
• Bring your shoulders up, as if to touch your ears with them. Then relax them. Repeat.
• Wrinkle up your forehead by bringing your eyebrows up as far as they will go. Repeat.
• Wrinkle your nose and close your eyes tightly. Repeat.
• Press your lips tightly together. Repeat.
• Push your tongue into the roof of your mouth. Repeat.
• Press your head against the wall in back of the chair. Repeat.
• Take a breath that is so deep you can feel it stretch your belly muscles. Hold it. Release it slowly. Feel yourself relax as the air leaves your lungs. Repeat.
• Suck in and tighten your abdomen, as though preparing to receive a punch in the stomach. Repeat.
• Arch your back away from the chair. Repeat.
• Legs and thighs. Lift your legs up from the chair, holding them straight out in the air. Then relax them and bring them down to the floor. Repeat.
• Point your toes back toward your chest, creating tension in your lower legs. Repeat.
• Curl your toes downward, as if digging them into sand. Feel the tension in your arches. Repeat.

Enjoy the feeling of deep muscular relaxation.

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Note:

You can try as many of the muscle groups as you’d like.

The more you do, the deeper the feeling of relaxation you’ll achieve.

The goal is to notice how deeply you can relax, so you can eventually achieve a deep level of relaxation without having to do the tension/relaxation exercises.