PMRT AND GUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

We get so busy during the day trying to do different activities, be it studying, research, work, raising a family, and whatever else that you get involved in, to the point that our minds are always busy. Our brain is working over time. Our bodies get stretched beyond measure.

Sometimes we even fail to pause to actually breathe and notice when we are breathing, how we are breathing, even when just naturally breathing. It is important to pause and breathe .

I'm sharing herein a technique or some techniques that I believe can help in self regulation, coping with stressful situation to improve our mental health and general wellbeing and breathing is very important aspect of that.

It helps us to self-regulate; to identify some areas in our body that may be needing attention or that are taking a beating from stress, strain, anxiety and ,trauma.

On this article am giving you a guide on how to implement progressive muscle relaxation technique (PMRT) and Guided Mindfulness Meditation.

First and foremost, you need to find or identify a comfortable and ideal space where you will not be interrupted or disturbed.

Progressive muscle relaxation is an exercise that relaxes your mind and your body by progressively tensing and relaxing a group of muscles throughout your entire body. You need to tense each group of muscles vigorously, but without straining yourself, then you suddenly release the tension and feel the muscle relax.

You will tense each muscle for about, say, five seconds. If you have any pain or feel any discomfort at any part of the targeted muscles or muscle groups, just feel free to omit that particular group of muscles. Throughout this exercise, you may visualize the muscles that you are targeting tensing and feeling a wave of relaxation flowing over those particular muscles that you are tensing, where the tension sits.

It is important that you keep breathing throughout the exercise. Now, let's begin.

You can either sit in an upright position, in a comfortable spot or you may choose to sit on the floor, you may choose to sit on the chair. It's up to you.

You may lie down on your back, in a location that you feel you will not be disturbed, you will not be interrupted.

Allow your attention to focus only on your body. Pay attention to your body. If you begin to notice your mind wandering, bring it back to the muscle you are targeting or you are working on .

It is normal for your mind to wander off to other things, to try and problem solve ; to think of the office, of deadlines, to think of the children.

Do not judge yourself harshly when your mind does that. Just notice that and bring your attention back to the group of muscles that you are targeting.

Take a deep breath through your abdomen. When you breathe, you can feel your abdomen going in or rising, hold for a few seconds and exhale slowly. Again, as you breathe, notice your stomach rising and your lungs filling with air.

As you exhale, imagine the tension in your body, being released and flowing out of your body.

Again, inhale through your nose.

Hold !

and exhale through your mouth.

Again, inhale through your nose.

And exhale through your mouth.

As you go through each step, remember to keep breathing.

Now, let's target tightening your forehead by raising your eyebrows.

Raise them up as high as you can.

Hold for about five seconds.

And release them. Relax.

Again, raise your eyebrows up higher, tight, and release them back to normal.

You can pause for about 10 seconds.

Now, you are going to smile widely, feeling your mouth and your cheeks tense.

They will tense up as you smile as wide as you can. Smile, 5 seconds, release, smile again, as wide as you can, release.

You can feel the tension as your face relaxes and softens.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

The next group of muscles to target is your eye muscles, your eyes. By squinting your eye lids, tightly shut your eye lids.

Tighten your eyes, shut your eyes, and tighten.

Close them as tight as you can. Hold.

Hold for five seconds. Release. Open your eyes.

Tighten them again, closing them shut as tight as you can, and release them. Pause for about 10 seconds. Notice where you are feeling your muscles relaxing or tightening.

We are now going to target your head muscles. Gently tilt your head back as you focus on the head muscles.

Pull your head back, and as you do that, turn your head back and look up into the ceiling or into the sky as if you are looking up into the sky. Tilt your head back and look up into the ceiling or into the sky.

Hold for 5 seconds and release your head back to its normal position. Pause for about 10 seconds. You can do that again.

Tilt your head backwards and look up into the ceiling. Tilt your head as far back as you can , And now release it.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Now, try and feel the weight of your relaxed head on your neck as it sinks back into position, you may be feeling tension sitting on the group of muscles that are around your shoulders.

As you do this, keep on breathing in, through your nose, and out through your mouth. Try that again. In, out, let go of all the stress.

Keep breathing in and out.

Now, tightly, but without straining, clench your fists and hold in that position. Clench your fists; fold your hands into fists , hold for about five seconds and release.

Do it again, tightly fold both your hands into fists, hold for five (5) seconds, release. Pause for about 10 seconds. Breathe in and out. Breathe in and out!

Now, flex your biceps. Feel that build up of tension. You may even visualize the muscles tightening.

Hold for about five seconds and release. As you are enjoying that feeling of limpness, of allowing your biceps, your shoulders to relax.

Breathe in, hold, breathe out.

Now tighten your triceps by extending your arms out and locking your elbows. Tighten your triceps by extending your arms out, locking your elbows.

Hold for about five seconds, and release.

Keep pausing for about 10 seconds.

Now, lift up your shoulders as high as if you intend for them to touch your ears. Just lift up your shoulders as high as you can, as if intending to touch your ears.

Hold for about five seconds, and quickly release.

Feel the heaviness.

Lift them again as high up as possible, and quickly release.

Pause for about ten seconds.

You can feel the tightness in your back and on your shoulder blades. Hold for about five seconds and release.

Do that again.

Push back your shoulders until your shoulder blades are close together, like they are about to touch each other. Hold for five seconds and release as you are breathing naturally. Pause for 10 seconds.

Now, you are going to tighten your chest by taking a deep breath.

Breathe in. Hold for five seconds.

And exhale!.

Do that again.

Tighten your chest by taking a deep breath. Breathe in and exhale.

Exhale through your mouth.

You can feel your chest relaxing as you breathe out. And now, pause for about ten seconds.

We are now going to focus on the muscles in your stomach.

We are going to be sucking the stomach in or pushing your stomach in. Holding for about five seconds , releasing and pausing for ten seconds . Let's do that.

Tighten your stomach; stomach in. Push your stomach in as tight as you can.

Feel the strain on your stomach, your abdomen, or on your back.

Hold and relax.

Arch your back and relax it back into its normal position.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

Feel the limpness of your upper body. Let go of the tension.

Scan your body for where the tension is still sitting.

Is it still there in your shoulders?

Are your shoulders still feeling tense?

If there is , keep on repeating the exercise for the shoulders by lifting them up tight and relaxing them, by pushing them forward and then pushing them back into position by stretching your arms backwards until the shoulders blades are about to touch, and relax. That reduces the tension on your shoulders.

Now we are going to target your buttocks, your bum.

You're going to tighten them as hard together as you can and hold for five seconds, release.

Imagine your hips falling loose.

Tighten your buttocks again.

Hold your bum together.

Tighten, hold, and release.

Pause for about ten seconds.

Now tighten your thighs by pressing your knees together, as if you were holding a penny between them, like you are holding a BWP2 or BWP5 coin between your knees.

Hold tight for about five seconds and release.

You can repeat that. Tighten your thighs by pressing your knees together. You can sense and feel the tension and release.

Pause for about 10 seconds.

The reason is called Progressive Muscle Relaxation is because you target different muscles of your body. We're focusing on the muscles around your thighs.

Now we are going to be flexing your feet.

Pull your toes towards you. Pull your toes towards you as you feel the tension in your calves.

Then hold for five seconds and relax. Breathe as naturally as you can in the process. Notice the weight of your legs sinking down.

You can repeat that;

Pulling your toes towards you as far as you can. Hold for five seconds and release.

Now you can curl your toes under tensing your feet. What you do is you point your toes forward away from you as far as you can. Point them forward.

Hold for five seconds. Release.

You can repeat that again.

Point your toes forward as far as you can stretch. Hold for about five seconds and release.

Now, imagine a wave of relaxation slowly spreading through your body, beginning from the top of your head.

Remember ; we started from the head to the neck, to the shoulders, fists, arms, elbows, your shoulders, and we went as far as your toes.

Now, relax your body, allow yourself to feel the weight of your body, your relaxed body, and breathe in, hold, and breathe out.

Breathe in, through your nose, exhale through your mouth. You can do that again. Breathe in, hold, breathe out.

This progressive muscle relaxation technique can help to relax your muscles, to relax your body, and to clear your mind, and help you cope better with anxiety and any stress that you may be going through.

Having done that, you can conclude by using mindfulness technique, where you are just going to express compassion and fill yourself with compassion, kindness, and love.

Enjoy the process and the feeling that you get, and the sensations in your body.

Slowly, you can close your eyes.

Still in your comfortable position, whether you are sitting upright or lying on your back.

You are going to express compassion and kindness to yourself by expressing the following phrases;

May I be well.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy.

May I be peaceful.

You can repeat that.

As you do that, pay attention and notice how your body feels.

The warmth of loving kindness

The feeling of your body.

Imagine you radiating love and kindness to yourself, your body.

Imagine you radiating light, light radiating around you.

The light of peace, self-love, and

self-compassion.

If there is somebody you've had an issue with, or that you would want to heal with, you may as well go further and say the same feelings of compassion towards them in saying;

(It may be your friend., your partner, your colleague, your son or your daughter. Continue saying that.

As you are doing this, continue breathing naturally. Continue breathing naturally, and imagine the peaceful feeling that you are wishing for the other person reaching them, and continue saying to yourself; may I be well,

may I be happy,

may I be healthy,

may I be peaceful.

Even if you may have been going through the most stressful situation, stressful time in your life, just expressing self-love, self-compassion can help, Can heal,

and feel yourself bathed in that warmth and light of loving-kindness, whilst repeating the phrases silently and mentally reciting, maybe for two minutes.

Remember to continue breathing naturally.

From extending the compassion, the love and the kindness to others, you may then turn to your surrounding.

Wherever you are sitting, your immediate surrounding, there may be grass, you may be sitting on grass, in the garden , you your room, you may be sitting in the wilderness, near the river, the ocean, by the beach, there may be water around you, there may be animals around you, there may be dogs around you or insects around you .

You can extend the same loving kindness to your environment as you continue saying the phrase; and imagine that kindness flowing to your environment.

You can continue saying;

may we be happy,

may we be well,

may we be healthy,

may we be peaceful.

Continue breathing naturally as you are

extending your loving kindness to all the beings, all the existence, the existing beings from within your small environment, your large environment and out into the universe and see yourself in the love that's upon you and radiating from you into your environment.

You can continue to be saying ;

may all beings be well,

may all beings be happy,

may all beings be healthy and peaceful.

May all beings be well,

may all beings be happy,

may all beings be healthy

and peaceful.

As you breathe, as natural as you can.

And continue to include yourself in that and say;

may we be well,

may we be happy,

may we be healthy and peaceful.

Notice what your body is feeling, how your body is feeling, what sensation you are feeling, and where you are feeling it as you are doing mindfulness meditation with visualization to relax yourself and to express compassion to yourself, to others and to your environment.

Remember, we exist within an environment and we exist among people as we interact with other people.

You may know of somebody who is unwell, who is struggling with sickness, who's suffering from a chronic disease, who's suffering in some other way, not just about sickness, and you may feel the need to express and extend your loving kindness and compassion towards them. And you include them in the process by meditating and breathing naturally.

Thinking of that sick friend, that ill family member or individual with a problem, no matter what the problem is, and imagine your radiating love, compassion and kindness flowing from your heart towards them.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you be peaceful.

May you be free from suffering and its causes.

May you be happy. May you be healthy.

May you be peaceful.

As you meditate and think of that person that is going through problems, extend your compassion towards them.

You may also use the same meditation for yourself; For example;

may I be free of suffering and its causes?

May I be happy?

I be healthy?

I be well?

May I be peaceful?

Remember to continue breathing naturally as you say;

May I be free from suffering and its causes?

May my friend be free from suffering and its causes?

May we be happy?

May we be healthy?

May we be peaceful?

#Remember: continue breathing naturally and visualize;

Visually identify a happy spot.

It may be imaginary, it may be a place that you know, a place where when your mind goes to, you get filled with peace.

A place that gives you that peacefulness.

imagine that place as you express; may we be free of suffering and its causes.

May we be happy.

May we be healthy.

May we be peaceful.

Imagine the radiating light, love of kindness, compassion flowing out of you going into your environment and continue to be saying,

may we be free of suffering and its causes.

May all beings be free of suffering and its causes.

As you breathe naturally, now just relax, and notice where you feel the sensation in your body.

Notice what you are feeling in your heart, and what you are thinking or problem solving tendencies to think of the problems that you may be going through, finances, debts, and sick ones, and sick families and colleagues, as well as possible conflict at the workplace.

This is the technique that you may use.

When you're winding down the day after work, or before you go to start work in the morning, you could be using progressive muscle relaxation or mindfulness meditation.

When you are feeling down, depressed, or anxiety, you may use self- compassion meditation.

If you've been hard on yourself, not seeing any good, any success in your life, criticizing yourself left, right, and center, you need to develop self-compassion and this meditation guide may help you do exactly that.

In completion, breathe in naturally and breathe out as you meditate and visualize - your happiness,

• your wellness,

• your peacefulness, and your

• good health.

  
  

  I hope this will help you.

People's lives have improved because of meditation.

As a child of God, you may feel free to add scripture into this; for example, you may use Psalm 23, Psalm 91, Deuteronomy 28 or any other inspirational scripture that works for you.

You can use that as you meditate through positive affirmations.

But at The end, each one of us deserve that inner quietness, inner silence, and relaxation of the mind and of the body.

So, feed your soul and your spirit, not just your body, with good and positive things.

Thank you.

May you find this useful,

May it help you.

May you be healthy.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy.

May you be well

and peaceful.

Sources

Bourne,E.J.(2026,Feb10).Progressive Muscle Relaxation Script. Anxiety &Phobia Workbook.

Chopra,D.(2022).Reinventing Life:The Gift of Resilience. LinkedIn. 

Draper,T&Kenned,M.(2024).50

Mindfulness Exercises for Groups and

Individuals. South central Foundation.

Kabat-Zinn,J. (2026,Jan 20). 

Mountain Meditation Script, 

Palouse Mindfulness Website.

Ramirez, D.(2026).Breath 

Awareness.  Three Steps Deep Breathing. 

Positive Psychology.

Stone,J.(2011).Minding the 

Bedside. Minding the bedside.com

Send a text

By Tshidi M Wyllie (PhD).

From New Beginnings CounsellingBW: PMRT & GUIDED MINDFULNESS MEDITATION, 20 Feb 2026

https://podcasts.apple.com/bw/podcast/new-beginnings-counsellingbw/id1798959087?i=1000750721833&r=2345

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