Allyson

Massachusetts, USA

Susan

San Diego, CA, USA

Secular

Stress & Anxiety

Relaxation Meditation

Stress

Secular Mindfulness

Visualization

English

There are 5 places in our body where we most likely store tension. This 5-minute practice takes us through softening the forehead, hinges of the jaw, back of the neck and upper back, chest, and stomach to let go and release into relaxation.

5-Minute 5 Point Body Scan Relaxation

 the five places that we most likely store tension. Forehead and eyebrows with frown and worry, hinges of our jaw, back of the neck, shoulders, the chest and the stomach. Take a couple of deeper breaths. Big inhale, long slow exhale. And as you do that, bring your attention fully into this moment. Notice the whole back of your body, the whole front of your body. Now bring your attention into your forehead and eyebrows. You could maybe start by lifting your eyebrows. And as you breathe out in particular, let your forehead soften. All of those small muscles of the forehead that we communicate with, eyebrows, the muscles around the eyes. And as you breathe in, keep your attention really focused there. And then the next time you breathe out, you soften a little bit more from there. The relaxation keeps deepening. And then bring your attention to your mouth and jaw. You could move your lower jaw around a little bit. Release the tension out of the hinges of your jaw. Put a little bit of space between your upper and lower jaw so your teeth don't touch top to bottom. Let your tongue soften. Rest on the floor of your mouth. You might notice the sensation of air through your nose and coming into the back of your throat. We can feel that on the inhale because it's a bit cooler. And then bring your attention to the back of your neck, your shoulders, your upper back. You could bring your shoulders up a little on the inhale. Let your neck and shoulders release tension as you breathe out. Let your breath be deep and even and smooth. Then bring your awareness around to the front of your body again. Notice your face, from your forehead and eyebrows, down through your mouth and jaw, and then into the collarbones and the large muscles that cover the chest. And then bringing your attention to the collarbones, upper part of the chest, heart center, lower rib cage at the front. As we soften through the chest area, we signal to the nervous system that it's safe enough to relax. And be aware of your breath and where your body is moving with your breath. Ideally, when we're breathing diaphragmatically, what that feels like in the body is on your exhalation, your stomach area, navel center, lower belly, all of that is softening and coming back towards the spine. As we exhale, we focus there for a moment. Allow that area to soften. As we breathe in, these softer muscles can lengthen more easily. Tune into the breath and the stomach area for a moment. When we maintain our awareness on the inhale, then on the exhalation, we can soften more deeply. Maintaining your awareness as you breathe in, and then as soon as you finish your inhale, let your breath smoothly move into the exhale. And then bring your awareness back to the whole of your body, from head to toes. And when you're ready, open your eyes.