A Little MS with a Little MSW

I just watched a video on Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) with an elementary school-aged child. Do y’all want to try it with me? Your elementary school years are probably long past, but so what? We adults are young and heart and can reap the benefits of tapping into our inner child from time to time.

Okay, this will be a little awkward, and not as relaxing as it could be since you will have to open your eyes and read the instructions for each muscle group, but give me a break – I am trying to practice new skills and I thought you guys might be a fun audience…

Ready?

One..two…three!

Now close your eyes.

Now open them again so you can read the first set of instructions (lol).

Start in a comfortable seated position and close your eyes. Imagine you are holding a lemon in your right hand and squuuuueeeeeze it as tight as you can. Tighter….tighter…now unclench your fist and notice the different sensations between tension and relaxation. Now hold the lemon in your left hand and repeat the same clenching gesture…and relax.

Now you are a turtle! Something is after you and you have to shrink your head back into your shell. Shrug your shoulders up toward your ears as far as they will go! Hide…HIDE!! Aaand relax your shoulders. Repeat this clenching of the shoulders again, holding for at least five seconds…and release.

Now you are chewing the biggest piece of bubble gum you can imagine. It’s so big you can’t believe you were able to fit it in your mouth. Make a large chewing motion 4-5 times, rolling the bottom jaw in a circular motion. Now bite down on the chewing gum as hard as you can…PRESS those teeth together and tighten the jaw muscles as much as you can! And relax…

Oh, no! I see an elephant! He’s coming toward you, and it looks like he is going to plop right down on your belly! Pretend your stomach is a bench. Make it as hard and tight as you can, so the elephant doesn’t squish all your insides! Whew, the elephant stood up! You can soften that belly again.

Eww, does anyone smell that? It smells like a baby just had a massive blowout! Scrunch your nose up as tight as you can and hold it there. Ok, I think the danger has passed; you can relax. Whoa – false alarm – army of babies coming toward us and they smell like a port-o-potty. Sccccrrrunch that nose up again and HOOOOOOOLD… Ok. We’re all good.

Are you sitting down? Okay, on the count of three, I want you to stand up and make your legs as straight and taut as an uncooked spaghetti noodle. Now cook the noodles and collapse back into your seat. Repeat this until I post my next blog….

Just kidding. I’m kidding. Thanks for playing, y’all! I hope you are feeling relaxed and entertained!