JPPS Wellbeing

Mindful Monsters – Tensing Taylor

The Mindful Monsters Program is a Mindfulness program which uses memorable monster characters to help us learn portable techniques for calming the body and focusing the mind. 

This week’s Mindful Monster is Tensing Taylor. Taylor focuses on contracting and releasing muscles in the body to release the stress held in the body.

Tensing Taylor knows that sometimes we tense our muscles when we are feeling stressed. Sometimes we don’t even notice how our muscles become tense, but perhaps you clench your teeth slightly so your jaw feels tight, or maybe your shoulders become tense, resulting in a feeling of tightness in your neck and shoulders. Muscle tension can also be associated with backaches and tension headaches.

Tensing Taylor uses Progressive Muscle Relaxation to tense up specific muscle groups and then relax them. We tense up and hold our muscles tight as we count to 5, and then release the tension, shaking it out and letting our muscles relax. 

Tensing Taylor works from the head down to the toes:

• Starting with the face – scrunch up eyes, press lips together, tense cheeks, count to 5 and release
• Keeping the face relaxed, tense the shoulders – lift them up towards the ears. Count to 5 and release
• Clench arms and hands – tense biceps and squeeze hands in a fist like juicing a lemon. Count to 5 and release
• Tense the torso, squeeze the stomach muscles. Count to 5 and release
• Tense buttocks and thighs. Count to 5 and release
• Tense calf muscles. Count to 5 and release
• Curl up your toes like collecting sand under them at the beach. Count to 5 and release.

Laura Serong

Student Wellbeing Officer