Now we move into somatic awareness—noticing what's happening in the body. A great bridge practice is progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). It's also well-supported historically in stress reduction.
PMR teaches you to notice the difference between tension and relaxation. By intentionally tensing then releasing each muscle group, you build interoceptive awareness.
Guidelines
- Go to about 50–60% effort—no maxing out
- Keep breathing—no breath-holding
- Skip anything painful or injured
We'll move through: feet, legs, hips, abdomen, chest/shoulders, arms/hands, neck/shoulders, face/jaw.
Practice
Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Systematically tense and release muscle groups to build awareness and release physical tension.
Pause after each release. What do you notice? Warmth, heaviness, tingling, softening… or maybe nothing obvious—all valid.
Lesson 7 of 1450% complete