Lesson Four: Progressive Relaxation

Acting is a strange contradiction.  We work very hard to be natural.  We train diligently on reigning in those natural reactions, emotions, and voice.  The trick is not looking like we’re working hard at all.  This training is about discipline.  You must allow yourself to be free to do what is natural for your body.  The work is about exploring your instrument so that you can call upon your qualities and powers at will.

In order to put forward the aspects of yourself that you need in different situations, it helps to find your place of relaxed “neutral”.  From neutral, one can take the qualities needed in a specific situation without dragging along the qualities that may get in the way.  Let us summon your power of relaxing so that you can focus in the situations that trigger any stress or anxiety, find your “neutral” from where your best work can be done, and create the starting point for your performance.

Welcome to our progressive relaxation session.  I’ll talk you through so that you may put down your phone, close your eyes, and listen.   If the point of the relaxation is to fall asleep, then lie down where you are comfortable.  If you are building this relaxation into your day to become more aware of your body, please sit somewhere comfortable.  Be careful if you have any aches, pains, or injuries.  There should never be any shooting pains while you tense your muscles.  This is largely a breathing exercise.  If you feel light headed just relax the breaths.  Inhale and release when it is more comfortable for you rather than following my cues.

Progressive relaxation uses the pattern of muscular tension and release to encourage relaxation.  By isolating your muscles you become more aware of all your pieces.  When I ask you to inhale it isn’t supposed to be hard work.  A deep cleansing breath is about letting the air fill you, wash through you into your belly, then ooze out, letting the air clean the tension away.  By allowing the exhale to fall into your feet you feel connected to the earth and you are encouraged to breathe into your belly.  If you feel your shoulders rising and your face and upper body tensing with your breaths, allow that tension to fall away too.

As many times as you can do this exercise, preferably every day, you will strengthen your connection with the feeling of relaxation so that you may begin to relax more easily in the future.  That connection will allow you to relax even in stressful situations.  It will also make you better aware of your body, so that you are aware at first sign of tension and you can prevent the tension from accumulating.

Tension and worry create stress responses that were a good thing once upon a time when we were running from predators.  If a stress response arises during this exercise, you can thank that stress response for the kind offer to save your life, but no thanks.  Let it pass.  As well with this work, the body releases emotions with the tension.  Emotional responses are common and natural.  You may be holding on to feelings that escape when you release a held tension.  Don’t fight them or be afraid.  Just let them flow away.  Always breathe through it.

The pattern follows:

• Inhale a deep cleansing breath
• tense the muscle group
• hold for 5 seconds
• exhale
• release the tension.

And enjoy!  Just click on the link below and let’s begin.