Deep Relaxation Exercise

Deep Relaxation Exercise from Body Mind Mastery by Dan Millman, pg. 75

Lie on your back on a carpet or mattress, and loosen any tight clothing. Have a friend read the following instructions to you, or else record them yourself and play them back. Once you know the steps and your body gets accustomed to this state, you can easily go through the process anytime, even in a few minutes.

Be aware of the body's weight. Breathing slowly and naturally, surrender to gravity. Notice the floor pressing up against the body and the body pressing equally down into the floor.

Put your attention on your feet...imagine they are very heavy. Feel the skin heavy, the bones heavy...the whole body becoming heavy.

Feel the deep, profound heaviness spreading up into your lower legs and through the knees, releasing all the muscles. Feel the lower legs heavy...the skin heavy, the bones heavy...the whole body becoming heavy.

Feel the heaviness continue into the thighs and buttocks. Feel all the muscles of the thighs release and the buttocks relax, feel the skin heavy, the bones heavy...the whole body becoming heavy.

Let the pleasant heaviness sink deep into the lower back, releasing ...and continue into the upper back, around and under the shoulder blades, along the spine...releasing...heavy. Let the muscles of the upper back and neck and shoulders sink into gravity's pull...skin heavy, bones heavy...the whole body heavy.

Let go of the upper arms...the elbows and lower arms...feel the heaviness all the way to the fingertips...skin, bones...the whole body...heavy.

Feel all the muscles of the neck...front, back, and sides...release and sink to the floor...skin, bones...the whole body heavy.

Now the entire body below the neck is heavy, totally relaxed. If you feel any tension left anywhere, let it go, and become twice as heavy.

Now, as I name the areas of the face and scalp, feel them as heavy, and let them go with gravity...skin, bones...the whole body...heavy.

Feel the scalp release...all the muscles of the forehead...around the eye sockets...the cheeks, letting go...the muscles around the noes...the mouth and jaw, all releasing...the chin, and around the ears.

Now your entire body is in deep relaxation. Energies flow through the body freely, revitalizing, healing, rebalancing.

Notice your breathing. Imagine you're floating gently, on your own warm, private ocean. On inhalation, feel yourself float slowly up, and on exhalation, float back down...feeling the well-being of total relaxation.

Imagine the blood coursing freely through the body, nourishing it. Feel the energy of the body, vibrating within the cells.

Feel the peacefulness of relaxation. Notice how calm the mind is in this moment-and how open your feelings are. The next time you experience any emotional upset, let the body relax into this pleasant state.

Imagine yourself walking, with this same feeling of release...using only the muscular effort you need, and no more. Feel the lightness and effortlessness of running...or playing your favorite sport with the same relaxed grace.

As you feel this state, know that you can return to it at will. Now begin to increase the depth of your breathing. Ending with three gigantic breaths of energy, open your eyes, and sit up. Stretch like a cat.