Progressive Muscle Relaxation

In his book Progressive Relaxation, Edmund Jacobson (1929), a Chicago physician, theorized that physical tension leads to mental tension, which further exacerbates physical tension. Therefore, learning to relax your body should promote mental relaxation and lowered stress levels. This technique has been used very effectively to treat a wide variety of stress-related disorders (Seaward, 1997). The theory of its use is simple: if you induce a feeling of deep relaxation in your body, you simply cannot be feeling stressed. As your body returns to homeostasis, your body's natural inclination toward healing and health is activated.

While we will present a formal protocol that you can follow to implement progressive relaxation, it is most important that you understand the principles and guidelines that will allow you to succeed as long as you commit to regular practice for several weeks. The reward for this short-term commitment is that you will be able to reduce the time needed to reach a relaxed state from twenty-five minutes down to five to seven minutes.

Practicing Progressive Relaxation

Before you begin, you may find the following guidelines helpful for your practice:

• Prepare a convenient time and place, and practice regularly. Remove distractions.
  
  
• Set up a regular practice schedule. Several times weekly is recommended until you have mastered the technique. You can then use it on an as-needed basis.
  
  
• Be comfortable. Wear loose-fitting clothing. Recline on your bed or sofa or in a cozy recliner chair. Some people place a rolled towel under their knees and lower back to maintain a comfortable spinal alignment.
  
  
• Avoid falling asleep, unless you are using this procedure to facilitate sleep.
  
  
• Don't try too hard. Paradoxically, if you try too hard to relax it will only increase your level of tension.
  
  
• Allow yourself to “let go.” Sometimes people fear letting go, for it is equated with losing control. The only thing you have to lose here is unhealthy muscle tension. Learning to relax increases your control, but first you have to let go and allow this to happen.
  
  
• If you find your mind wandering, gently bring your focus back to your breathing and to this technique without scolding yourself or passing judgment.
  
  
• Finish your relaxation practice by coming back slowly. At the end of your practice session, slowly bring your attention back to the here and now, gently stretch your muscles, and open your closed eyes. If you are lying down, roll over slowly onto your side, pause, and then sit up. When your muscles are deeply relaxed, you do not want to contract them suddenly. Coming back slowly allows your relaxed state to linger for hours.
  
  

One goal of this procedure is to help you become aware of the difference between feelings of muscle contraction and muscle relaxation. Begin by taking a few moments to scan your body for tension and to focus your attention on any physical sensations. The basic method in progressive relaxation is to first carefully tense a particular muscle or group of muscles. This is to further develop your awareness of that part of your body, specifically when that part is tense. It is important that you contract the muscle only to a low level of tension. Be particularly careful not to overtense any muscle or muscle group where you are prone to experience muscle spasms. Contracting a muscle as hard as you can only leaves you more tense and does not cultivate relaxation. Tense each muscle group for five to seven seconds, and then release the muscle and focus your awareness on how the muscles feel as they relax for the next twenty to thirty seconds. Allow yourself to focus on any sensations of warmth and heaviness. As you continue from muscle to muscle, slowly but surely the sensation of warmth and heaviness will spread throughout your body. It can help to talk to yourself during this process with self-instructions such as the following:

Clench your right hand into a fist. Tighten your fist and study the tension as you do so. Become aware of the tension and discomfort in your hand and forearm as you tense. Now let go of the tension and let your hand go limp. Pay careful attention to the feelings of relaxation spreading in your hand as the tension drains away. Notice the difference between the comfortable sensations of relaxation in your hand now, compared to the uncomfortable feelings of tension. Let go more and more, letting the muscles in your hand and forearm grow more and more deeply and fully relaxed.

The typical sequence of movements would be as shown in Table 5.1 on page 58. After you have become familiar with the sequence of movements in Table 5.1, you can try a number of techniques for coordinating your breathing, language, and imagination to creatively deepen and enrich your experience.

• Experiment with coordinating your breathing with the tensing and relaxing of each muscle group. Inhale and briefly hold your breath as you tense the muscle group. Exhale as you let go. Be aware of the sounds of the breath as you relax as well as the feelings of relaxation. Over time the hissing of the slow release of breath will become associated with relaxation and speed up the process of letting go.

  Table 5.1. The Progressive Relaxation Sequence

  	Muscle Group	Activity
  1.	Hands and forearms	Clench fists (left then right) Bend hands backward at wrist (left then right)
  2.	Biceps	Flex by bending elbows and bringing hands up to your shoulders
  3.	Triceps	Straighten arms and push down against the chair or floor
  4.	Forehead	Wrinkle forehead
  5.	Eyes	Squeeze tightly shut
  6.	Jaw	Press teeth together, then let jaw drop
  7.	Tongue	Press into roof of mouth
  8.	Lips	Press together
  9.	Head and neck	Push head back Bend head forward; touch chin to chest
  10.	Shoulders	Shrug and try to touch ears
  11.	Chest	Take three deep breaths; hold each several seconds
  12.	Back	Arch
  13.	Abdomen	Suck stomach in Make stomach hard, as if it were going to be hit
  14.	Thighs	Tense thigh muscles; stretch legs out
  15.	Ankles and calves	Point toes toward face Point toes downward

  
  

• Some people prefer to visualize their breath as light that carries warmth and relaxation to their muscles. In this scenario, as you tense a muscle and inhale, you are pulling light to the muscle group. As you exhale, you expel darkness and tension from the muscles. Gradually you build an image of your body filled with light. If certain colors feel better to you, feel free to experiment. For instance, some people like to use the color blue to symbolize relaxation and red to indicate tension. Once you have reached a relaxed state you can really embrace your relaxation experience by imagining a scene that is pleasant to you (for example, lying on a beach or walking in the woods).

• There is also a time-honored method known as autogenic training in which you literally talk yourself into relaxation by repeating certain phrases over and over while focusing your attention on a particular muscle group. For instance, if after going through a progressive relaxation exercise, you still feel residual tension in a body part, then you would repeat to yourself, “My (arms, hands, thighs) feel warm and heavy.” Or you could say to yourself, “My (arms) feel loose and relaxed.” In fact, this method of systematically repeating relaxing phrases over and over again can be used on its own to induce relaxation. It can, however, be terminally boring, so be certain to tailor your program to your needs and interests. Create a routine that interests you, and you will increase the likelihood of following through and mastering this skill.

One main goal of progressive relaxation training is to help you achieve differential relaxation throughout your day. Accomplishing this means that you are able to contract only those muscles that are necessary to accomplish the task at hand, while keeping all other muscles relaxed (McGuigan, 1984). For example, there is no need to clench your jaw, stiffen your shoulders, or squeeze the steering wheel while driving. But your arm and leg muscles will certainly need to contract in order to operate a car.