Real Relaxation by Konstantin Koss

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Above photo by exfordy.

A while back when I learned to guide the relaxation technique called “progressive Muscle Relaxation” or PMR I noticed that it was one of the most effective tools in relaxation therapy to get people out of a stress-mindset and also to release muscle tension stored up in the body. And most importantly: people don’t fall asleep when doing it.

The way it works is simple: If you want to be really serious about it (not necessarily recommended) you lay down somewhere on your back. You could also get comfortable in a nice chair or even d this in your workplace if you got 3 minutes alone somewhere. I like to advice “however it feels comfortable to you”.

Getting started, concentrate on an isolated part of you body. Let’s start with your right hand.

Now comes the progressive part. You make a fist and tense up your hand as strongly as possible, about 7-10 seconds. You can also count in your head and with each count try to tense up even stronger.

Now when you reach 10 it will feel very uncomfortable and you let loose completely, and continue feeling into your hand. feel into it and notice the difference between tense and relaxed and keep tracking the feelings for some moments. I won’t give you a specific time for that, or you would do more counting than relaxing.

Repeat the above up to 3 times, then we go to the next muscle in order: your right hand and arm.

When making a fist naturally your lower arm already tenses, now we go up to the upper arm. The technique is the same as above: 7-10 seconds tensing, then letting loose and feeling into the difference between stressed and relaxed, repeated 3 times.

Then you get to your complete right arm including your shoulder (press against something if you can’t tense your shoulder muscle).

Let’s make it a complete list:

1. right hand (fist)
2. right hand and arm
3. right hand, arm, and shoulder
4. left hand
5. left hand and arm
6. left hand, arm, and shoulder
7. both hands, arms and shoulders
8. both hands, arms, shoulders and neck
9. tense your face. You are alone, aren’t you? If this makes you laugh, good!
10. both hands, arms, shoulders, neck and face
11. back isolated
12. back with previous muscles
13. chest isolated
14. chest with previous muscles
15. butt isolated
16. butt with previous muscle
17. upper thighs isolated (you can take both right away or start with right like the arms)
18. complete legs
19. legs , feet and toes
20. The Grand Finale: Altogether!

Note that there are two shools of PMR, one where you isolate each muscle (first hand, then only biceps, then triceps, etc.) and one where you add muscles till you tense and relax your whole body. I had better experiences with the latter so I put it here. For the former method, check out Wikipedia.

There is one important note I have to and want to emphasize:

Before practicing PMR, you should consult with your physician if you have a history of serious injuries, muscle spasms, or back problems, because the deliberate muscle tensing of the PMR procedure could exascerbate any of these pre-existing conditions.

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Tags: PMR, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Progressive Relaxation, Progressive Relaxation Technique, Relaxation, Relaxation Technique, Stress, Stress Release, Stress Relief, Workplace