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Progressive Muscle Relaxation
This exercise is designed to help you relax. It is useful when you feel tense or have difficulty falling asleep. It is a series of tensing and relaxing various muscle groups. This cycle of tensing and relaxing helps to release tension because we carry stress in our muscles. This exercise will not remove tension from your mind, but may distract your mind while you are doing the exercise.
The Exercise
Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down. You may want someone else to read this allow to you – have them read slowly and softly.
- Clench your right fist tightly. Study the tension in your fist as you do. Keep it clenched and notice the tension in your forearm as well….now relax. Feel the looseness in your right hand. Notice the contrast….Do it again….Tense your right fist and hold….Now relax. Notice as you relax, what the opposite of tension feels like.
- Now, clench your left fist. Notice the tension in your hand, wrist and arm…hold it…and relax. Let the tension go…notice the difference…repeat tensing and relaxing one more time…
- Now bend your elbows and tense your biceps…Keep your hands as relaxed as possible….Tense your biceps as hard as you can…observe the feeling of tight muscles….and relax…Straighten you arms…let them relax…and feel the difference…And do it again…Bend your arms and tense your muscles….pay attention to the tension…notice where it hurts….and relax. Let the tension seep out of your muscles.
- Turn your attention to your head. Wrinkle your forehead as tightly as you can. Notice which muscles are tense…now relax…smooth it out…imagine your entire forehead and scalp becoming smooth and at rest…now frown, and notice how the strain spreads throughout your forehead….let it go. Allow your brow to become smooth again. Close your eyes now. Squint them closed tightly…look for tension…and relax…allow your eyes to remain closed, gently and comfortably.
- Now clench your jaw…bite down hard. Notice where the tension rests in your jaw….relax. When your jaw is relaxed, your lips will be slightly apart… really appreciate the contrast between tension and relaxation… Now press your tongue against the roof of your mouth…push hard…feel the ache in the back of your mouth…relax…press your lips together now…purse them into an ‘O’… relax your lips. Notice that your forehead, scalp, eyes, jaw, tongue and lips are all relaxed. Allow yourself to feel the relaxation deeply.
- Now, press your head back as far as it can comfortably go, and observe the tension in your neck muscles. Roll your head slowly and gently to the right and feel the change in the location of stress…roll your head slowly and gently to the left…straighten your head, and bring it forward….press your chin against your chest…feel the tension in your throat and the back of your neck…relax…allow your head to return to a comfortable position. Let the relaxation deepen.
- Now, shrug your shoulders…notice the tension develop as you hunch your head down between your shoulders…notice the stress…relax your shoulders…drop them back and feel relaxation spread, through your neck, throat, and shoulders.
- Give your entire body a chance to relax…feel the comfort and heaviness…now breathe in and fill your lungs completely….hold your breath. Notice the tension in your chest muscles….now exhale. Let your chest become loose…let the air hiss out…continue relaxing, letting your breath come freely and gently…do it again…breathe in and completely fill your lungs…and relax, exhale, allow your chest to become loose. Allow your breath to come freely and enjoy simply breathing…focus on your breathing.
- Next…tighten your stomach, and hold….relax. place your hand on your stomach… breathe deeply into your stomach, pushing your hand up…hold….and relax. Allow the air to flow freely and noisily out…feel the contrast of relaxation, as the air rushes out…and again…breathe deeply into your stomach…pushing your hand up…hold, and…relax. Allow the air to flow freely and noisily out. Feel the contrast of relaxation as the air rushes out.
- Now, arch your back, gently without straining…keep the rest of your body as relaxed as possible…focus on the tension in your lower back…and relax…notice how the relaxation deepens.
- Tighten your buttocks and thighs…flex your thighs by pressing your heels down, as hard as you can….relax…feel the difference in your muscles…and again...press down on your heels as hard as you can…and relax…Now curl your toes downward, making your calves tense…relax…now bend your toes toward your face, creating tension in your shins…relax…bend your toes toward your face again…again relax.
- Feel the heaviness throughout your lower body as relaxation deepens…relax your feet, ankles, calves, shins, knees, thighs and buttocks…allow relaxation to spread to your stomach, lower back and chest…let the tension go…experience relaxation deepening in your shoulders, arms and hands…notice the feeling of looseness and relaxation in your neck, jaws, and all your facial muscles.
Adapted from The Stress and Relaxation Workbook, 4th Edition
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