Progressive relaxation is a process of relaxing your whole body starting with your head and moving down to your toes and fingers. Research by the Natural Therapies Research Board has confirmed the Quantum Home Trainer obtains better results if progressive relaxation is used during training.
During the day you are encouraged to remind yourself to breathe deeply and relax any time you feel any tension, tightness, coldness, hardness, discomfort, stress or pain. In the beginning it may take you the entire twenty-five minutes of a regular session to complete this process. Somewhere around five to ten sessions you’ll be able to relax completely in half that time. Within thirty sessions most people are able to completely relax in five minutes or less. Do not be discouraged if it takes you longer. Some of us are just more resistant to change than others. But once we break through our resistance, we can make a lot of progress within a relatively short period of time. Some people who had a hard time getting through their resistance explain that their ego was afraid to change anything. Others say they are just stubborn people. A few said it was part of their personality to resist doing anything new and different. Whatever the reason, by practicing they were able to completely relax their body and change their lives. Practicing five times a day is easy. You do it once first thing after you awaken in the morning or before breakfast. Your other relaxation sessions can be at morning break, lunch, afternoon break, and after supper. Some people prefer to wake up and have a session. Some like to go to sleep with a progressive relaxation session. Others believe they obtain more benefit from their food if they relax while waiting for their food. You decide when you want to practice, how you want to practice, and in what manner you practice your progressive relaxation. Feel your health improving as you practice.
Step One
Follow these steps (repeating each statement to yourself as necessary before proceeding):
- Sit, recline or lay down and be comfortable
- Slowly take a deep breath and relax
- Take a deep breath and slowly exhale
- Take a deep breath and relax as you exhale
- Take a deep breath and continue to relax
- Slowly take a deep breath and continue to relax as you exhale
- Continue to breathe deeply and relax (repeat as necessary)
Step Two Part One
When you are sufficiently calm and relaxed, start your session and:
- Continue to breathe deeply and relax (repeat as necessary)
- As you continue to breathe and relax, bring your consciousness to your forehead. Breathe deeply and relax.
- Use the following script for each section of your body
The process to use for each scan of the sections of your body is:- Where you feel any tension, release it
- Where you feel any tightness, relax it
- Where you feel any coldness, warm it up
- Where you feel any hardness, soften it
- Where you feel any discomfort, become comfortable
- Where you feel any stress, let it go
- Where you feel any pain, make it go away
- Continue to scan your (body part) breathe deeply and relax
- Continue to breathe deeply and relax
- You repeat the last step on this list until you feel you are relaxing that section of your body. Then proceed to the next section of the body.
Step Two Part Two
You are welcome to define the sections of your body any way that works for you. We recommend the following nine body sections starting with the forehead as explained above and working down sections the body in this order:
- Forehead
- Eyes and eyelids
- Mouth, lips and jaw
- Neck and shoulders
- Arms, hands and fingers
- Chest and upper back
- Abdomen and lower back
- Legs, feet and toes
Scan your body from the top of your head to the tips of your fingers and the tips of your toes.
Notice that the first four sections of your body are much smaller than the other four. It turns out they are the most important. Once you can relax your face, neck and shoulders the rest of your body relaxes more quickly and easily.
Spending additional time on these first four sections is usually a good way to relax and speed up your recovery to robust good health.
During any training session, after you have completed the progressive relaxation program, you are encouraged to remind yourself to breathe deeply and relax any time you feel any tension, tightness, coldness, hardness, discomfort, stress or pain.
Step Three
When your training session is complete take your time returning to the real world, into this reality. Move your feet, legs, fingers and arms in that order pausing a few seconds after each command, like this:
- Move your toes. Pause.
- Move your feet. Pause.
- Move you fingers. Pause.
- Move your hands. Pause.
- Move your legs. Pause.
- Move your arms. Pause.
- Move your head, shoulders and neck. Pause.
- Slowly open your eyes and return to this reality. Pause.
- Slowly get up and start walking. Pause
- Return to this reality
Step Four
As you become proficient with progressive relaxation, you’ll notice it takes you less and less time to completely relax your body. When you achieve a state of complete relaxation in fifteen minutes or less, you can scan larger portions of your body at a time. Here’s one example of how you might do that:
- Scan your head — Step Two Part Two numbers 1, 2, 3 — your head, your forehead, your eyes and eyelids, your mouth, lips and jaw. Relax your face and head.
- Scan your upper body — Step Two Part Two numbers 4, 5 and 6 –your neck and shoulders, chest, upper back and arms. Relax your upper body.
- Scan your lower body — Step Two Part Two Numbers 7, 8 and 9 — your abdomen, lower back, hips, legs, feet and toes. Then scan your entire body.
Another way to do this is to relax your body in four sections:
- Your face: forehead, eyes, mouth, lips and jaw
- Your arms: neck, shoulders, upper arms, elbows, lower arms, wrists, hands and fingers
- Your torso: chest, upper back, abdomen, middle back and lower back
- Your legs: hips, buttocks, upper legs, knees, lower legs, ankles, feet and toes
Step Five
There will come a time, usually in less than a hundred progressive relaxations sessions — or twenty days if you practice three to five times a day — when you find your entire body relaxes when you start your progressive relaxation session.
When this happens, become comfortable, take a deep breath and exhale slowly, scan your body from the top of your head to the tips of your fingers and toes, and relax. In a few minutes or less you will be completely relaxed and regaining your robust health.
With practice you can take one deep breath and completely relax your mind and body.
Plan on doing Exactly That!!!
You will discover progressive relaxation is an important tool to help you regain and improve your health.
When you can completely relax in less than a minute, you have a tool to manage your pain, reduce your stress, improve your mental capacities, enhance the quality of your life and detox your body, mind, emotions and spirit. Your spiritual health improves as your body, ego, emotions, mind, soul and spirit become more healthy.
Progressive Relaxation Instruction
Progressive Relaxation is a process of progressively relaxing the body from the top of your head to the tips of your fingers, and from your shoulders to the tips of your toes. It is easy to learn; and it is one of the most effective stress release techniques available.
We recommend starting with the forehead. Relax your forehead.
When your forehead feels relaxed, relax your eyes, eyebrows and corners of your eyes.
When your eyes feel relaxed, relax your mouth, lips and cheeks.
When your mouth feels relaxed, relax your tongue and jaw.
Relax your face. Relax your 1) forehead, 2) eyes, 3) mouth and 4) tongue and jaw.
After you have mastered the art of relaxing these four parts of your face, you can relax your face as a unit instead. Just relax your face. Then check to see that your face is completely relaxed.
Check to see that your forehead, eyes, mouth, tongue and jaw are all completely relaxed. If they are not, relax them. When they are completely relaxed, enjoy the benefits of relaxation.
When you are ready to continue relaxing your upper body,
Relax your neck, relax the front, sides and back of your neck.
When your neck feels relaxed, relax your shoulders from your neck to your arms.
When your shoulders feel relaxed, relax your upper and lower arms including your elbows.
When your arms feel relaxed, relax your fingers and hands including your wrists.
Relax your upper body. Relax your 1) neck, 2) shoulders, 3) arms, and 4) fingers and hands.
After you have mastered the art of relaxing the four parts of your upper body, you can relax your face and upper body as two units instead. Relax your face and then relax your upper body.
Check to see that your face, neck, shoulders, arms, fingers and hands are all relaxed. If they are not, relax them and continue, Once they are all relaxed, enjoy the benefits of relaxation.
When you are ready to relax your torso,
Relax your chest from your shoulders to your belly and from side to side.
When your chest feels relaxed, relax your upper back behind your chest.
When your upper back feels relaxed, relax your abdomen (belly).
When your abdomen feels relaxed, relax your middle and lower back.
Relax your torso. Relax your 1) chest, 2) upper back, 3) belly, and 4) middle and lower back.
After you have mastered the art of relaxing the four parts of your torso, you can relax your face, upper body and torso as three units instead. Relax your face, upper body and then your torso.
Check to see that your face, upper body, chest, upper back, abdomen, middle and lower back are all relaxed. If they are not, relax them and continue, Once they are all relaxed, enjoy the benefits of relaxation.
When you are ready to relax your legs,
Relax your hips from side to side, and front to back.
When your hips feel relaxed, relax your buttocks (rump).
When your buttocks feel relaxed, relax your upper and lower legs including your knees.
When your legs feel relaxed, relax your feet and toes including your ankles.
Relax your legs. Relax your 1) hips, 2) buttocks, 3) upper and lower legs and 4) feet and toes.
After you have mastered the art of relaxing the four parts of your legs you can relax your face, upper body, torso and legs as four units instead. Relax your face, upper body, torso and then your legs.
Check to see that your face, upper body, torso, hips, buttocks, upper and lower legs and your feet and toes are all relaxed. If they are not, relax them and continue, Once they are all relaxed, enjoy the benefits of relaxation.
After you have mastered the art of relaxing the four units of your body, you will be able to progressively relax in about thirty seconds or less. Your body will relax with one deep breath.
Some people feel the need to make an audible sound as they exhale and completely relax in one breath. Some people raise their shoulders as they inhale and drop them as they exhale. Some people like to breathe in slowly and exhale explosively.
We suggest you try all of the above and other techniques that appeal to you or that you invent. Then use whatever techniques are appropriate at the time and in the place you are.
Progressive Relaxation Script
Here is a great script for creating your own Progressive Relaxation tape or CD that we have permission for you to use. This Progressive Relaxation Script may be copied and given to your clients so they can do the same.
We recommend you make a progressive relaxation tape for yourself using your own voice. Speak slowly. Leave space between each short sentence — we call that “white space.” White space is very calming and peaceful.
We recommend you help your clients make a relaxation tape for themselves in their own voice.
Progressive Relaxation Video
You have permission to use this video or the audio file from this video. You may also use it to record your own progressive relaxation tape for yourself or your clients. This tape is divided into two sections for easy downloading.
Progressive Relaxation Video – Part One
Progressive Relaxation Video – Part Two
Your Assignment
Practice doing the progressive relaxation technique until it becomes second nature to you. If you regularly see clients, practice this technique until you have it down pat. Then proceed to your next assignment.