Progressive Relaxation Induction

Sitting back in your chair. Uncross your legs. Close your eyes. Now beginning to breathe very deeply, taking 5 deep breaths, and with every breath you exhale you will become more deeply relaxed.

After the fifth breath, concentrate on the weight of your shoes. Being foreign to your normal body weight, they will begin to feel heavy, and this heavy relaxation from your heels to your ankles will become very prominent. You are now feeling this heavy relaxation moving up word into the calves of your legs… Feeling the weight of your legs pushing down, heavier and heavier… And feeling your legs relaxing deeply… Deeply relaxing… And as heavy relaxation moves into the knees, as you concentrate only on my voice.

Pay no attention to the outside sounds except my voice, for these outside sounds are everyday sounds of life and cannot distract or disturb you, but will tend to relax you and allow you to go even deeper into this deep, heavy relaxation.

Now, feel the relaxation moving up word into your thighs and hips and through the mid section of your body… Feel the stomach muscles relax… Deeply relaxing… and the entire chest area becomes saturated with relaxation. Breathing becomes very deep, gentle, and rhythmic, and the drowsy, sleepy, day dreaming feeling of relaxation takes over ... Letting go! … Drifting down, deeper and deeper and your arms, hands, and fingers are relaxing… Feeling and numb, pleasant, tingling, feeling through your fingers as this relaxation grows deeper and deeper.

Neck muscles are relaxing and all the little muscles in your scalp are letting go, feeling as if the blood is circulating very closed the skin. This relaxation moves down over your forehead and down over your eyelids like a dark veil of sleep as your jaw muscles relax deeply… Deeply relaxing… And growing heavier.

And as I count from 5 down to 0, every count will represent deep relaxation and you will feel the body relaxing even more and letting go… Deeper and deeper… And when I reach zero, you are going to go deep asleep. Now, 5… Letting go… four… three… Two… One…zero… deep sleep!

(Now quickly misdirected subject by saying)

Now concentrate on my voice and go even deeper asleep with every breath that you exhale.

(Before awakening the subject, gives suggestions for re-hypnosis and feelings of well-being and relaxation awaken him I reversing account from zero to 5)

In just a few moments, I will be bringing you back the state of room consciousness. But before that happens let's take a few moments to recognize fully your current state of heightened awareness. Notice that your body is completely relaxed, that you have a sense of peace and well being that permeates every fiber of your body. Going just a little deeper now…

Bringing you to room consciousness now… As I count from 1 to 5. Five, representing wide-awake, 1 becoming aware of your body. Two…feeling the chair beneath you. Three… remembering everything that just happened…four… Five… eyes open, wide awake 1, 2,3,4,5, eyes open wide awake.