Simple relaxation ritual (good for insomnia and stress)

Relaxation exercise - good for unwinding, stressing down, for sleep trouble, etc

Lay on your back with your arms at the sides of the body in a room where you will not be disturbed by any outside noises. Remain as relaxed as possible and keep your eyes closed.

Starting with the top of the head, deliberately tense the muscles of the forehead for a moment as much as possible. Then let go of the tension. Relax the forehead totally. After a brief period of time, tense the muscles of the face and neck. Then let the tension go fully away. Relax completely. Continue down the rest of the body in the same manner, first tensing, then releasing the muscles: shoulders, arms, chest and back, stomach, buttocks, thighs, calves, and feet. Tense, and then relax.

Tense the entire body as much as possible then relax fully and deeply. Do this at least three times after which remain totally relaxed. Notice how much more relaxed your body is after the balancing effects of tensing and releasing, compared to the calm state your thought you had attained at the beginning of this exercise.

Breathe deeply, but without strain. Visualize yourself enveloped in a sphere of brilliant white light. Imagine your body bathed in this light and feel its warmth on your skin. As you inhale, feel the divine light filling your lungs and spreading throughout your body to the tips of your toes and fingers, giving you a sense of ultimate peace and relaxation. As you exhale, you breathe out a portion of this endless light, giving its tranquil effects back to the one source in a cycle of flux and reflux. Yet the more light you breathe out, the more light is breathed back within you, till your while being is created out of divine light.

Visualize a golden sphere of healing light in the center of your body, around the area of your heart. Feel it's smooth warmth. See this sphere traveling to areas of your body where some tension remains. Whatever part of your body the sphere touches becomes fully relaxed and regenerated. Let the sphere traverse every part of your body, and when this is done, place it back in its original position, centered about the heart.

Continue to relax in this state for a few more moments. Then take a few deep breaths and feel the vitality stirring within you as you end the ritual, or just keep relaxing to fall asleep if using it for insomnia or sleep problems.

Enjoy!

-Maggador

[sunnyray]

Thanks for sharing. Such progressive relaxation techniques are always helpful before falling to sleep.