Progressive or Deep Muscle Relaxation Training

Progressive Relaxation training is a method used to teach deep muscle relaxation in order to:
1. help you recognize the difference between tension and relaxation,
2. make your level of relaxation deeper.
3. teach you a method that is refreshing to increase your energy level.

Many people are much too tense. When you learn to relax, you save energy and enhance your quality of life. You will also find anxieties less troublesome when you are relaxed. Relaxation training readjusts your tension level and enhances your comfort more readily whenever you wish.

THE GOAL IS FOR YOU TO BE ABLE TO RELAX COMPLETELY WITHIN A VERY SHORT PERIOD OF TIME -- from a few seconds to several minutes. Eventually, you will be able to simply use a word or an image to trigger your desired level of relaxation. It may take a few sessions or several weeks for you to achieve your ideal relaxed state. It will depend on how often you use the method, your tension level, and experience with meditation or imagery.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR TENSING AND BREATHING

When you begin the exercises, you will be following the procedure outlined below:
TENSION-BREATHING SEQUENCE

1. Tense your muscle system(see next page) without straining,

2. Take a full breath and hold it for a count of five while tensing the muscle system,

3. Notice the easy tension in those muscles as you hold your breath for a five count,

4. Exhale slowly and release tension allowing the muscles to return to a relaxed position (You may wish to use your trigger word or image here -- see below),

5. Notice the difference between muscles relaxed and when they were tensed, and do that with each muscle system

6. Repeat each muscle system as needed depending on your level of relaxation.


TRIGGERING RELAXED STATE After you are relaxed, decide what word and image you will use to signal your state of relaxed awareness. It can be a word like 'relax', 'calm', 'easy'. The image can be of lying on the beach or sitting in a meadow in the mountains with the feel of the sun on your skin and the sound of the wind or the smells around you or any comfortable, safe place you prefer. In addition to your image and word, as you are fully relaxed, squeeze the first 2 fingers and thumb of your left hand together for about 3 seconds.

Use your finger pressure, word, and image while you are fully relaxed. Then use them during the day as triggers for relaxation in other settings – home, work, school, etc.

To begin the relaxation, sit or lie comfortably, close your eyes, take a full deep breath, and exhale slowly. Notice your muscles as you inhale and exhale.

HANDS & FOREARMS. Make fists and tighten them without excessive strain. Notice feelings as you tighten and hold. Take a deep breath and hold it for a count of five as you notice the tension in your hands and forearms. At the five-count, exhale slowly as you release the tension, remembering the feeling as your muscles relax. Learn that difference between tension and relaxation with each muscle group.

UPPER ARMS(BICEPS). Tighten your biceps as you follow the Sequence.

NECK. Tense your neck muscles by pressing the back of your head against the surface you're on just enough to create an easy tension. Follow the Sequence.

SHOULDERS & UPPER BACK. Shrug your shoulders or press them backward against the surface.

ABDOMEN. Tense your abdominals and follow the sequence.

THIGHS. Press your legs downward without locking your knees and follow the sequence.

LOWER LEGS. Point your toes away from you or rotate your feet with toes toward your head. Repeat the sequence to achieve relaxation.

Now, review your body, see if there is any tension. If you notice some, focus on it and take a full breath, hold it for a five-count, then exhale slowly.

When you are at a maximum feeling of relaxation and comfort, use your word or image. The other thing to do is to squeeze your left thumb and first two fingers together for a count of 3. This finger pressure, the image, the word and the breathing can serve as triggers for relaxation during the day in various settings. During the day, trigger relaxation in various places at various times about 5-6 times. That way, you can relax wherever you are whenever you wish. When people practice at least once a day, they notice an overall improvement in well-being, energy, tension and, if applied to specific fears, a reduction in anxiety.

copyright, 2009