Guided Relaxation Meditation

"For fast-acting relief, try slowing down" - Lily Tomlin

Guided relaxation meditation confers twin benefits - instant stress relief by relaxation of the body and the less immediate benefit of a mental condition conducive for meditation. 

The modern science of psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) has shown a complex interdependence between mind, body, emotions and spirit.

Essentially proving that the more you relax your body, the more your mind relaxes.

As we all know very well, stilling the mind is an arduous task, but it is easy to relax the body.

And that is what we set out to achieve through guided relaxation meditation. 

Basics first

• Record these instructions in your own voice or ask someone you trust to read them to you while you meditate. Do it at a slow pace
• Pause (5-10 seconds) between two paragraphs 
• Sit in your normal meditation posture - preferably cross legged on the floor, and if that's difficult, sit on a chair with your back and your shoulders straight
• Alternatively, you could lie down on the floor (as is done in yoga nidra meditation), but you run the risk of dozing off
• Wear loose fitting clothes and remove any jewelry that may cause discomfort 
• Do not tense muscles for longer than 5-6 seconds
• Begin with the intention of being mindful in the moment and ignoring all other concerns  
• Take a few deep breaths and calm your body and mind
• Close your eyes
• Listen to the directions and follow them (pardon me for stating the obvious) 
• Remember to pay attention to each of the following:

           - feeling of muscles at rest

           - feeling when contracted

           - feeling when relaxing

           - feeling when they are deeply relaxed

Guided relaxation meditation script

1. Take a long and deep breath and contract the muscles of your feet by squeezing and pushing out your toes. Hold. Feel the tension in the muscles, now exhale, let go, and relax.
2. Move your attention to your calves, this time pulling your toes toward your knees to tense up the calf muscles as you inhale. Feel the tension, hold, then exhale, and relax. Pay attention to the relaxing muscles. Let go, and feel them as deeply relaxed.
3. Move up and notice how your thighs feel. Breathe in, contract and hold. Breathe out and let go. Relax your thighs and notice how they feel. Breathe in, and out. 
4. Feel the weight in your buttocks, inhale, contract and hold. Feel the tension in your buttocks. Now exhale, and let go. See your buttocks relaxing.  
5. Breathe into your abdomen and this time contract your tummy, hold, and exhale. Breathe in, and out. Enjoy the feeling.
6. Allow your breathing to be natural. Breathe in, and out.
7. Now, tense up your chest as tight as you can, hold the contraction, and let go. Breathe in, and out. Feel the relaxation. Enjoy the feeling. 
8. Inhale and contract your shoulders as if trying to touch your ears with them, hold and feel the pain, hold it, exhale and let go. Relax. In and out. In, and out.  
9. Breathe in and tense your arms as hard as you can, making fists of your hands, feel the quivering of your muscles, and hold. Hold. Now relax, and breathe out. Feel the gradual relaxing of the muscles. Breathe in, and out. Feel them at rest, deeply relaxed. Feel the heaviness of your arms. In, and out. 
10. Move your attention to the face and head and contract your jaws, eyes and forehead as hard as you can. Inhale, contract, feel the tension, hold, exhale, relax, feel the relaxation.
11. Breathe in breathe out. Let your jaw drop and your eyes soften. Let go, so that all the tightness dissolves. Relax.
12. Feel the relaxation all over your body. Take note of how you are feeling. Let go. Relax. Let go.
13. Rest in the awareness.
14. When you are ready, slowly move your toes and your fingers and shift your arms and your legs.  
15. Gently open your eyes and arise.  

Take this feeling of relaxation to your daily activities and know that you can access it at a moment's notice by breathing in and letting go.

A downloadable guided relaxation meditation mp3 would soon be available on this site. Add this site to your RSS feed, or subscribe to Kkaivalya (my free newsletter) by filling in your details in the left column, to be the first one to know when that happens.

Until then, I hope this guided relaxation meditation script serves you well.

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