Posts Tagged ‘Tension’

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (commonly shortened to PMR) is a relatively new relaxation technique. PMR was invented in 1934 by American physician Edmund Jacobson and has been further developed by many others since then. The basic idea behind Progressive Muscle Relaxation is to focus on one muscle group at a time, creating tension for 10 seconds and then relaxing the muscle group. This technique actually reduces tension once it has been performed as well as lowering anxiety.

Tense your fist and then relax it.

This is something you can try right now in front of your computer. Take your hand off of your mouse for a second and form a tight fist for ten seconds, then relax for a couple of seconds. Now fully extend your fingers so it causes tension and hold again for ten seconds before relaxing the muscles. Feel how relaxed that hand now feels. Now imagine feeling that level of relaxation all over your body. That is entirely possible using Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

In has been discovered that relaxed muscles actually require less oxygen than tense ones. This means that after using Progressive Muscle Relaxation your breathing slows down and becomes deeper, adding to the relaxation process. It is almost like a positive spiral down into a deeper state of relaxation.

To begin practicing PMR it is best to be either seated or laid down in a comfortable position. Bear in mind you will have to both tense and relax many of your muscles and thus must be in a position to do so.

It should be noted the Progressive Muscle Relaxation is not a good idea if you are recovering from a broken bone, pulled muscle, tendons and other similar injuries. Tensing muscles is this way can slow down the healing process.

Start off by opening your eyes as widely as you possibly can for 10 seconds, you will feel the surrounding muscles begin to sting and burn during this time. This is the tension in the muscles building up. After the 10 seconds is up let your eyes relax.

Open your mouth wide for 10 seconds and then allow it to completely relax. You should find that when you relax your mouth there is a slight gap between your top and bottom set of teeth and your jaw is nice and loose.

Next tilt your neck forward and until the muscles are tense, again for 10 seconds. After this time allow your muscles to loosen and put your head back into a more comfortable position. At this point your head and neck should feel loose and relaxed with no tension remaining.

You can go down the rest of your body in this way from you shoulders, to your biceps, triceps, forearms and hands, then to your chest and stomach. Moving down to your buttocks, your thighs, calves and finally your feet.

This Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise will take you between 5 and 10 minutes and when you are done all of your muscles will be free of tension.