Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Stress can make us tense our muscles. You might be at the dentist’s office and notice your hands are clenched. Your shoulders are hiked up to your ears and your leg muscles are rigid. You can have the same physical feelings in other stressful situations like sitting on the airplane during turbulence or having a difficult conversation with a colleague.
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a proven technique to reduce stress by first tensing and then relaxing each of your major muscle groups.
How to do it
Think about a muscle. Squeeze the muscle for 5 to 15 seconds and then release the tension for 15 or so seconds. Make sure to notice the difference between your tense muscle and your relaxed one. Some people find it helpful to use imagery such as seeing the stress float away to the sky like smoke, or the muscles melting.
Start at your feet and work your way up to your head or vice versa. You can focus on as many or as few parts of your body as you like. For example, you might scan your body as follows:
Feet (tightly curl toes).
Legs.
Buttocks.
Stomach (suck it in).
Neck and shoulders (raise shoulders to ears).
Arms and hands (stiffen arms and clench fists).
Mouth (open it wide).
Eyes (squeeze eyes shut).
Forehead (furrow eyebrows).
When you're first beginning, you might find it helpful to do a guided recording. There are several free videos online.
Why it works
Stress can cause your muscles to tighten. Tense muscles can cause more stress. You may not even notice that your muscles are tense. Progressive muscle relaxation can break this cycle. It helps you recognize the difference between a tight and relaxed muscle.
With practice, you can become more aware of how you hold stress in your body. And what you can do to release it.
Practice to prepare
Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) is a good tool to have in your stress management toolbox. Practice using it in the morning if you notice your jaw is sore when you wake up. Or at night as part of falling to sleep. Or even during a tense part of a TV show or movie. This will give you practice noticing individual muscles in your body, and noticing when they are tense. And importantly, knowing how to relax individual muscles.
The more you practice, the more likely you’ll be able to use it as a tool to help you in a high stress situation.