Relaxation session for better sleep

To begin, lie down with your knees bent, forming an arch with your legs. Do not bring your feet together completely. In this position, find the most comfortable position for you and close your eyes.

Take three deep breaths, inhaling preferably through your nose, unless this causes you any difficulty, and exhaling slowly. Remember that the time taken to inhale should be shorter than the time taken to exhale, releasing the air slowly through your mouth.

Now breathe normally with one hand on your abdomen and the other on your sternum. Feel your breath; if it feels rapid, try to slow it down. With each breath, try to move your abdomen upward as you fill your lungs, and feel it lower as you exhale . 

Remember, breathe normally but calmly.

Now that you can feel your breathing, let your arms fall relaxed at your sides, slightly away from your body, but always in a comfortable position. You can place your palms facing up or down, whichever is more comfortable for you.

Let's release any tension we may still have built up. First with the legs. Stretch one leg and contract the muscles by bringing your toes toward you and pushing your knee down. Don't forget to bring your toes toward you to avoid pulling, but always without forcing too much. Hold for two seconds and relax your leg.

Repeat the same with the other leg. You will be lying completely flat with both legs stretched out.

Now gently push your hips upward for two seconds. Don't exert too much effort; the goal is to stretch your muscles slightly. Lower yourself and relax your entire body.

Let's move on to the upper body. To relax, we're going to tense up a little first, this time our arms. Raise your forearms, resting your elbows firmly on the bed or mat, and press your elbows down. Hold for three seconds and relax your arms at your sides.

Now raise your shoulders as if you wanted to touch your ears with them. As always, the idea is to tense your muscles and make an effort, but without overdoing it, as much as you can. Hold this position for 3 seconds and lower your shoulders, relaxing them as much as possible. Make sure you are not tensing them upwards. You may have tensed them before the exercise without realizing it, so relax them as much as possible.

Now let's relax your neck. To do this, as far as you can, without forcing anything, turn your head to one side, rotating it on the surface without lifting it. Wait a moment and return.

Repeat the exercise, turning your head to the other side. In the resting position, take several calm, normal breaths, feeling your breath.

Now imagine that a wave of relaxation starting in your head slowly travels down your body, down your face, neck, shoulders, arms, chest, hips, thighs, knees, calves, and feet. Finally, the wave leaves through your toes, and you feel more relaxed.

Repeat the journey of this wave again from head to toe.

Now feel your whole body. If you still feel tension in any muscles, move them, take a deep breath through your nose, and exhale through your mouth. Repeat this process with any parts of your body where you feel muscle tension.

If you have done this exercise just before going to sleep,turn off the audio and sweet dreams. If you have practiced these exercises at another time of day and are not going to sleep yet, do a couple of things before getting up.

First, move your joints a little. Then bend your legs back to the starting position. Next, turn onto your side. Wait a few seconds and get up slowly so you don't get dizzy.

In case you are interested in having this relaxation session to listen to and repeat daily, we will also publish it as an episode without the introduction, so you can listen to it whenever you want.