Guided Muscle Relaxation: Simple Steps To Eliminate The Stress In Your Life

In this fast-paced, high-stressed environment which we people traverse on a daily basis, finding a method of rest and relaxation seems as remote as a snowstorm in July. But surprisingly, with a little practice and about five to fifteen minutes each day, stress relief is available which will relax all of your major muscle groups, leaving you feeling refreshed, energized and ready to take on the world for the rest of your day.

Benefits Of Guided Muscle Relaxation

Other than giving yourself a ten minute break, several major obstacles common in everyday life can be alleviated with a once a day program, especially at night right before bedtime. Reported benefits include:

• easier breathing (especially for the asthmatic)
• lowers blood pressure
• reduces anxiety and depression
• makes it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep

The Simple Steps To Success
Practice through this whole program at least once daily at first. After a while, small mini versions, during stressful events will help you through each day.

1. Your starting position can be lying on your bed, on the floor or even in your favorite recliner. Close your eyes, breathe slowly, taking in the air through your nose. Hold for one to two seconds and then exhale through your mouth, blowing all of the pent-up stress and emotion right out of your body right along with the air. Repeat this 3-5 times before starting onto the next step of the program.
2. Start now with your face as a whole. Concentrate your attention on the face and its muscles. Mentally relax all the tension in your face until it feels soft and pliable. Continue your slow breathing pattern, guiding your face into this restful soft and supple state of relaxation.
3. Now pick the individual parts of your face. Make your eyes rest as if they were floating free. Use your breathing exercises as a means to release the tiredness or soreness from your vision. Continue on to the jaw. Focus on making your jaw relax. You teeth should part, your mouth slightly opens so your lips no longer touch.
4. Now you feel all the pressure and tension leaving your entire head, your whole head becomes soft down into your neck and shoulders. Your shoulders now can release their weight because they no longer have to worry about carrying the weight of your head.
5. Concentrate this feeling traveling down your arms, into your hands and then the fingers. All of the sore muscles and tension is being pushed out of your breaths so your arms, hands and fingers are now one at a time in a state of relaxation.
6. Next is your internal organs, especially the heart. Work on releasing any negative emotions as you try to expel the physical tension from your heart. Add your entire digestive system, the stomach and bowels, pushing out the tension and allowing your body to relax.
7. Move down into the hips, buttocks and groin area. Continue with your travels until you find your legs, feet and then toes. Use this slow breathing to allow your body to slow and mellow with each breath.
8. As you have traveled each section, allowing your body to release the tension of the muscles, now you can feel the bones soften also as they relax and release their bind around the muscles.
9. Your whole body now has reached this state of total relaxation and escape from your stressful environment. Continue on with the slow measured breathing for several more minutes just focusing on the calm before you open your eyes and return to your reality.

Once you have re-opened your eyes and you feel ready to rise, wiggle your fingers and toes, stretch your muscles all over as if you are waking in the morning. This allows your nervous system to re-adjust to normal time.

Although this routine may sound difficult, time-consuming or just plain ridiculous to many people at first, a daily practice session will help you to focus on any part of your body on command. After a while, several minutes a day will be all you need to facilitate that total feeling of relaxation.