Getting Rid of Stress: Progressive Muscle Relaxation

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

I learned about the method of progressive relaxation when I was preparing the article "How Psychologists Get Rid of Stress: 17 Ways Proven by Professionals." It became interesting to me and I decided to look for additional information. My verdict is worth a try. And you decide after reading the article:)

Methodology

I think that you have read more than once that our internal state is directly related to the external, that is, to the physical. If you feel overwhelmed, then the appearance is usually appropriate - the shoulders and head are down, the back is hunched over. If you are hostile to the other person or the ideas they are presenting, you will listen to them with crossed arms or legs. But as soon as we straighten our shoulders and raise our head, or get out of the position of protection, and the internal state, as if by magic, begins to change. And the mood rises, self-confidence appears, and the ideas expressed no longer seem so stupid. Therefore, the method of progressive relaxation is based on the connection between the physical and the emotional. By removing tension in the muscles, you get rid of stress, anxiety, aggression and other unpleasant emotions.

“The progressive muscle relaxation method was developed by the American scientist and physician Edmund Jacobson in the 1920s. The technique is based on a simple physiological fact: after a period of intense tension, any muscle automatically deeply relaxes. Therefore, in order to achieve deep relaxation of all skeletal muscles, it is necessary to simultaneously or consistently strongly strain all of these muscles. Dr. Jacobson and his followers recommend that you tense each muscle as much as possible for 5-10 seconds, and then focus on the feeling of relaxation that has arisen in it for 15-20 seconds. It is important to first learn to recognize the feeling of tension and then distinguish the feeling of relaxation from it."

It sounds complicated, but in fact it will only be like this for the first two weeks. The most important thing is to learn to distinguish between stressed and relaxed muscles. After a long workout, you will no longer need to complete the entire sequence. You will simply feel exactly where the clamp occurred, focus on that spot and relax the clamped muscles.

So, Dr. Jacobson originally developed 200 exercises to relax almost all skeletal muscles. I will not delve so far, since this is already a matter for specialists. I just want to share with you the simplest and most accessible recommendations that I have found on the net.

Therefore, we will work on the main muscles: muscles of the face (eyes, forehead, mouth, nose), neck, chest, back (shoulder blades), abdomen, legs (thighs, lower legs and feet) and arms (fist, wrist, shoulder).

You need to start with the hands, then move on to the face, from the face to the neck, back and chest, and then to the legs. While working with each part of the body, you first tense it strongly for 5-10 seconds, focusing on this sensation, and then relax and fix this state in your head for 15-20 seconds (some practicing psychologists suggest tense muscles in for 30 seconds, and relax for 5-10 seconds). Since the key to being able to quickly identify tense muscles is precisely the ability to feel and distinguish between these states.

Performance

Give yourself 15-20 minutes to do the exercises, during which no one will disturb you. If possible, find a quiet area, dim the lights, and get into a comfortable, relaxed position (an armchair with a comfortable back, a bed, a couch, an office sofa?). Close your eyes, relax, and take a few deep breaths. Go.

• Dominant hand and forearm(If you are left-handed, start with the left, if you are right-handed, start with the right). Just clench your fist tightly and twist it in different directions.
• Dominant shoulder. Bend your arm at the elbow and push your elbow firmly into a chair, bed, table - any nearby surface. If there is nothing convenient at hand, then you can rest against your body. The main thing is not to overdo it and do not hurt yourself.
• Non-dominant hand, forearm and shoulder.
• Upper third of the face. Raise your eyebrows as high as possible and open your mouth wide. This exercise is definitely best done when no one sees you. The second option is to close your eyes tightly and raise your eyebrows as high as possible. In this case, leave your mouth alone.
• Middle third of the face. Close your eyes tightly, frown and wrinkle your nose. You should feel good about your cheeks.
• Lower third of the face. Squeeze your jaws firmly and move the corners of your mouth towards your ears. The second option is that the corners of the mouth should look down, as if it were an anti-smile.
• Neck. There are three options here. First, pull your shoulders as close to your ears as possible, and pull your chin down to your collarbone. Second, just bend your head forward as low as possible, pressing your chin against your neck. If for some reason this exercise causes unpleasant painful sensations, try tilting your head back.
• Chest and diaphragm. Take a deep breath, hold your breath and bring your elbows in front of you as tightly as possible.
• Back and abdomen. Straighten your shoulders and try to bring your shoulder blades together, arch your back and tighten your abdominal muscles. If it's difficult to do this all together, first focus on the upper back - the shoulder blades, and then move on to the abdominal muscles.
• Dominant thigh. Tighten the anterior and posterior thigh muscles, keeping the knee bent and torn from the support.
• Dominant shin. Straighten your leg and pull the toe tightly towards you. In this case, the toes should be spread out to the sides as much as possible.
• Dominant foot. Pull the toe as far forward as possible, with your toes clenched.
• Non-dominant thigh, lower leg and foot.

This option can be shortened even further by not breaking down leg work into three parts. In this case, you can first simply raise your legs, bend your knee at a 45-degree angle and pull the toe towards you. And then straighten your leg, raise it a little and stretch the sock.

If you don't have a lot of time, you can speed up the process almost doubled by working not separately with each hand, but simultaneously with the left and right. Then the chain will look something like this: right and left hand and forearm, right and left shoulder, upper third of the face, middle third of the face, lower third of the face, neck, back and abdomen, left and right leg.

For the first two weeks, it is recommended to perform these exercises at least once daily for 20-30 minutes. Then reduce classes to 2 times a week with the same duration. After the first month, you can reduce the time to 10-15 minutes. And if you want to get not a short-term effect, but a well-functioning and working system, you will need to do it systematically. However, this applies not only to the progressive relaxation method.

It reminds me a lot of Shavasana - the "pose of the dead", when after yoga you relax, focusing on the muscles and relaxing them, traveling all over the body from the tips of the toes to the crown of the head. This is one of the most enjoyable states between sleep and wakefulness. After a difficult training and work with almost all muscle groups (usually during a full-fledged lesson, a good instructor tries to make sure that not a single part of the body remains offended), it is so nice to relax them and feel the warmth that spreads throughout the body in a wave. You know, sometimes in the morning you can catch a state between sleep and wakefulness, very similar to the state in shavasana, when the consciousness has already woken up, but the body has not yet. And you feel warmth and pleasant heaviness spreading all over your body.

Sometimes clamps go unnoticed for a long time and pass with us through the years. And when you see a person with pursed lips, a frowning forehead or tightly clenched jaws, he is clearly under constant stress. Remember this and when you feel, for example, that your jaws are clenched to a creak in your teeth, pull yourself up and try to relax at least this part of your face. And you will immediately feel at least a little relief.

Some experts argue that knowing exactly where the muscles are clamped can determine the problem itself. Sometimes you don't have to dig that deep to do this - the problem is clear. But sometimes a person can feel vague anxiety, anxiety or aggression, seemingly for no reason. And if our consciousness cannot find the source, then our subconscious mind has long ago sent all the necessary signals to our body and it squeezed. But for now, perhaps, I will leave this topic aside.

And when you fully study your body and the feeling of relaxation and tension, learn to feel your muscles, you will be able to determine exactly where the clamp has occurred, mentally go to this place and relax the muscle clamped in a nerve ball. At least this is what numerous sources promise to describe this technique.