Aggression, depression, anxiety, or trauma can cause stress on the body. One of the most effective ways to reduce stress in your body is to relax your muscles. However, it’s not that simple. To achieve maximum relaxation it’s important to follow a certain relaxation technique. Progressive muscle relaxation is a method that helps relieve stress.
What Is Progressive Muscle Relaxation
- Progressive muscle relaxation is a process of relaxation that targets your muscle group & allows you to work on your muscle groups in a certain order.
- Few weeks of practicing progressive muscle relaxation will improve your stress levels.
- Try to perform this activity while using an audio recording until you learn all the muscle groups in order.
- If you have trouble falling asleep, this method may help improve sleep.
How To Relax Muscles With Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Select a particular audio track for a certain muscle group to speed up your learning process for this method. Choose an isolated place with minimum distraction for maximum outcome. Follow these steps;
1. Start by breathing in, and tensing the first muscle group (hard but not to the point of pain or cramping) for 5 to 10 seconds.
2. Breathe out, and suddenly and completely relax the muscle group (do not relax it gradually).
3. Relax for 10 to 20 seconds before you work on the next muscle group. Notice the difference between how the muscles feel when they are tense and how they feel when they are relaxed.
4. When you are finished with all of the muscle groups, count backward from 5 to 1 to bring your focus back to the present.
After you have learned how to contract and relax each muscle group, you can easily release stress from any muscle group without going through the whole routine.
Sometimes it’s difficult for an individual to accurately follow this relaxation technique. Alchemical Center of Change offers programs that help with managing stress.
Ese Magege is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Alchemical Center of Change (ACC), a Wellness Center , devoted to helping individuals achieve positive transformative changes and empowerment for more fulfilling lives. ACC is based at the heart of Manhattan, in New York, United States.
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