Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Stress Management, Combating Anxiety, Assisting with Insomnia, and Pain Management
Stressed? Anxious? Can’t sleep? Have Pain?
Do you find yourself dealing with Stress, Anxiety, Insomnia, or certain types of Chronic Pain? Well if so, I’ve got your back. Have you tried Progressive Muscle Relaxation? If you have never tried this wonderful relaxation technique, I encourage you to take some time and give it a whirl.
Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation Shown in Research
Countless research studies have been completed and just as many papers have been written showing how helpful Progressive Muscle Relaxation can be to individuals dealing with a variety of issues. Large organizations such as the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH), The Johns Hopkins University/Medicine/Hospital program, and the World Health Organization (WHO) are just a few of the research-based organizations that endorse and recommend Progressive Muscle Relaxation for stress, anxiety, pain management, care after traumatic events, and even GI problems.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation can help with:
Stress/tension
Insomnia
Anxiety
Depression
Nausea/GI issues
Vomiting (related to breast cancer)
Reducing blood pressure/headaches
Promotes improved immune health
Reduce certain types of chronic pain
Improved body awareness
So if after reading the above list of potential benefits of Progressive Muscle Relaxation you think that this sounds like something that you may benefit from, keep scrolling!
Click on the link below to listen (or you can read the transcript of that audio file located just below the audio file) as I (Bahar) guide you through how to get your mind focused in order to start the Progressive Muscle Relaxation technique, how to prepare your environment for Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and of course, I’ll walk you through exactly how to do this technique in real time. The audio clip below runs about 27 minutes, so clear out some time and get this fabulous thing that we call relaxation in your life. **Note: I do not own and did not create this technique.
If you prefer to read the instructions for this relaxation technique instead of listening to it, I have included a dictation of the audio file that you can read below. Be aware that the text is a straight transcription of the audio file, so it’s very conversational. Get ready for run-on sentences galore!
Click the link below to start Progressive Muscle Relaxation now. IT’S COMPLETELY FREE. I told you that I got your back. ;)
***If you feel that your stress levels have gone beyond the help that you can get from reading a blog post, but that you are definitely identifying that you need some extra assistance, feel free to call me at the Jackson, MS office of Central Mississippi Therapy Solutions’ - (769) 300-5259 – to set up an appointment where we can get to the bottom of what is causing your stress. Or you can schedule your appointment directly on our website on the Contact page or by clicking here. We will work together to reduce and manage the stress, so that you can enjoy your life again. Until next time.
If you have a topic or a question that you would like for Bahar Dunn, our Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist at Central Mississippi Therapy Solutions, LLC in Jackson, MS to answer, please email centralmstherapysolutions@gmail.com. Please do not include any identifying information (unless you are comfortable in doing so), as email communication is not always a confidential medium of communication.
Disclaimer: The information in this blog post is for general information purposes only. Nothing in this post or on this website should be taken as therapeutic guidance or advice for any situation. This information is not intended to create, and receipt or viewing does not constitute, a therapist-client relationship.
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Transcription of the Progressive Muscle Relaxation audio file:
Hi guys, Bahar here. So for this month's blog, I'm going to walk you through the progressive muscle relaxation technique. So for those of you that don't know, this technique progressive muscle relaxation, has a lot of research behind it. It's been around for quite some time. I did not come up with it, but I have used it with my clients for years and it is well liked, to say the least. It's very helpful if you have a lot of stress in your life that you're trying to get under control, if you're dealing with anxiety, if you have problems with insomnia (problems trying to go to sleep). Also, it's been helpful with certain types of chronic pain. So that's something interesting to note.
So the focus of this relaxation technique, progressive muscle relaxation, is on the muscles and muscle tension. So as we know, whenever we're dealing with a lot of stress, a common side effect is tension in the muscles. A lot of times we can experience that tension in our neck, our shoulders our back. Sometimes people experienced that tension in other places. But those three the neck, shoulders, and back are kind of the most common.
I'll note here that if you have had injury or surgery, or any type of significant discomfort to any of the muscle groups that we're going to be applying the tension and releasing the tension from, just be very cautious not to apply too much tension or to provide yourself with any discomfort during the tension because you don't want to re-injure or make any existing problems worse. And that goes for everyone else too, if you've not had any injury or surgery, you still don't want to apply too much tension whenever we're adding that tension to the muscle groups to where you are feeling uncomfortable, or to where it hurts. The point of the exercise really is just for you to become aware of how your muscles feel when they are tense, not painful, but tense. And then how your muscles feel different when you release that tension.
So that being said, I will now explain two of these specific exercise instructions ahead of time because sometimes they're a little bit confusing, I've been told. I don't want you to feel confused and kind of pull you out of your relaxed state when we're going through the exercise because you're thinking, I don't know what that means. How do I do that. So both of the semi confusing ones have to do with the muscles in our arms. So the first one relates to the bicep. So my instruction when we're actually going through the exercise and you remember I'm just giving these explanations, we've not started the exercise yet. So the first one is the bicep. So I will say something like, raise your wrist towards your shoulders and tighten the muscles in your upper arm. So with that, you are simply raising your forearm, your wrist up toward your shoulders, as if you are trying to touch your wrist to your shoulder. So if you go ahead and do that right now, just for practice, you'll notice you can feel that tension in your bicep.
Okay, so the second one that's a little bit confusing relates to your forearm. So with this one, I'm going to say something like- curl your hands inward, as though you're trying to touch your inner elbow with your fingertips. So with this one, go ahead and try it now. You're bending your wrist and pointing your fingertips towards your inner elbow. So obviously, it's not going to come close to touching your inner elbow, but if you go ahead and point your fingertips toward your inner elbow, you can feel that tension immediately.
Okay, so now that we have those two understood and ready to go, let me just quick explain how the exercise, progressive muscle relaxation, is laid out. So we're going to first do a little bit of breath work, slow, deep breaths. You want to breathe in through your nose, slowly, that's the key-slow-, so you breathe in through your nose. And once you get that full in-breath, you want to hold the breath for a couple of seconds, and then slowly exhale fully through your mouth. So we're going to do a little bit of slow abdominal breathing, then we'll move into the specific muscle groups and applying the tension. So when we start the tension, whichever is the chosen group, we will apply the tension at the same time as the breathing in. So it'll be taking that slow, deep breath in through your nose and applying the tension at the same time. Then you'll hold that in breath and the muscle tension for a few moments. And then whenever I instruct you, release both. So you'll slowly breathe out through your mouth as you are releasing your muscle tension at the same time. So each muscle group will do that twice. So the slow deep breath in through your nose and building the tension, and then holding both and then releasing the breath slowly through your mouth at the same time as releasing the muscle tension. That will happen twice before we move to the next muscle group.
The last thing to think about as far as instructions for this exercise: So what we want to focus our mind our thoughts on why we're doing this exercise is the muscle tension, how our muscles feel when we have the tension, and then how your muscles feel differently after you release that tension.
The other part that we want to focus on is our breathing. So how our body feels when we are breathing normally, where in our body we can feel that breath, any relaxing feelings that come with the breathing- that come with the muscle tension release. So it is absolutely common and not a problem at all if your mind strays away to different thoughts. To do lists, I have to get this done, what's for dinner, these type of things. No problem. What you want to do is to notice that your mind has shifted away from the focus on the muscles and the breathing. Let those thoughts drift right out of your mind, and then gently bring your focus back to the muscle tension release and the breathing. So you're not judging yourself, beating yourself up over your mind drifted. It is completely natural. The more that you practice this, the easier it will be to focus on the goals- the breathing and the muscle tension release. But until then, if your mind shifts every few seconds, that's absolutely fine. Just notice that your thoughts have drifted, let those thoughts drift right out of your mind, and then bring your attention back to the release of muscle tension in your breathing.
Okay, so let's go ahead and get ready to start the exercise. Again, I'm going to lead you through some deep abdominal breathing first, then we'll let your breathing go back to its normal rhythm as we do the tension.
So you can choose you can sit down somewhere comfortably, or lie down somewhere. You want to try to eliminate all distractions that you can. Silence your cell phone, turn off the radio, turn off the TV. Hopefully the kids, if you have them, can be in a different room being quiet somewhere. The key is you want to be able to focus on just the exercise The more you practice, you'll be able to implement this technique and other relaxation techniques that I'll be guiding you guys through in future blog posts with lots of distraction, lots of noise, and it'll be fine. You'll still get that relaxing feeling, that calmness wash over you. But while you're beginning, while you're kind of training your brain to get to this relaxed state, it's best if you can minimize the distractions.
So now that you're comfortable, either sitting or lying down. and your clothes are not bothering you, you're wearing something comfy, temperature in the house is good, everything to kind of set you up for this relaxing, calming exercise.
Okay, so we're going to start with the breathing. So just become aware of your breathing. Notice how your abdomen rises and falls with each breath. So we're going to take that long, slow, deep breath in through your nose all the way down to your stomach. Hold. And then exhale through your mouth. Allow your breath to carry away all stress and all tension as the air floods out of your lungs.
Take another slow, deep breath in through your nose, filling your lungs completely. Hold. Release the breath through your mouth, emptying your lungs and your stomach completely with your out-breath.
Take a third deep, slow breath in through your nose , and let it go. Tension loosening and subsiding.
So now just let your breathing rhythm returned to normal. You don't have to change it in any way. Just relax.
We're going to first start with bringing our awareness to our feet and toes. So as you breathe in deeply through your nose, gradually curl your toes down and tense the muscles in the soles of your feet. Hold your breath and the tension. Now release the muscles in your feet, as you slowly breathe out. Feel the tension in your feet washed away as you exhale. Noticing how different your feet feel when tensed and when they are relaxed. Take another slow, deep breath in again. Tensing the muscles in the soles of your feet. Hold. And release.
Feel yourself relaxing more and more deeply. With each breath. Your whole body coming heavier, softer and more relaxed.
Now bring your awareness to your lower legs, to your calf muscles. As you slowly drawing a nice deep breath, point your toes up toward your knees, keeping your heels on the ground, and tighten these muscles. Hold. Now let these muscles go limp as you exhale. Again, draw in a slow deep breath and tighten your calf muscles. Hold. And now let it all go. Feel your muscles relax, and feel the tension washing away with your out-breath.
Next, we're going to move to the front of our thighs. If you're lying down, you can do this by straightening your legs. You'll feel the muscles pulling your kneecaps upward. If you're seated, you can tense these muscles by pushing your heels down onto the floor. So go ahead and take that slow, deep breath in and tense the muscles in your thighs. Hold. And now release everything. As you do this, the blood flow to your muscles increases and you may notice a warm, tingling feeling. Enjoy this feeling of relaxation in your thighs. The comfort, the calmness. Again, slow, deep breath in through your nose, tightening the thigh muscles. Hold. And release. Focus on letting your muscles go loose and limp. Noticing the difference of when they were tight, and now that they're comfortably released.
Next, draw in a nice, slow, deep breath and tighten the muscles in your bottom. Hold. ,And now release your breath and the tension. .Feel that tension leaving your muscles. Feel the muscles relaxing completely. Once more, breathing slowly and deeply as you tighten the muscles in your bottom. Hold. Now release. You can feel yourself becoming more and more deeply relaxed.
This time, as you take your slow deep breath in, you're going to gradually tighten all of the muscles in your legs- from your feet up to your bottom. Make sure to do this in whatever is comfortable for you. What feels natural. Once you have that slow, deep in-breath and the tension. Hold. And release. Enjoy that sensation. The feeling of release as you become even more deeply relaxed.
Now bring your awareness to your stomach. Draw in a nice deep, slow breath and tighten these muscles. You can imagine you're trying to touch your belly button to your spine. Now release your breath and let your muscles relax. Paying special attention to the sensation of relief that comes from letting go. Once again. Draw in a slow deep breath and tighten your stomach muscles. Hold. Now relax as you release all tension.
Next, bring your awareness to the muscles in your back.
As you slowly breathe in, arch your back slightly and tighten these muscles. Hold. Now release your breath and let your muscles relax. Again, draw in a slow, deep breath, tightening your back muscles. Hold. Now relax and release.
We will now move up to our shoulder muscles and the muscles in our neck. As you draw in your slow, deep breath, pull your shoulders up towards your ears and squeeze the muscles firmly. Hold. Now breathe out completely and allow your muscles to go loose and limp. Again, pull your shoulders up towards your ears and squeeze firmly. Hold. Now feel the tension subside as you relax those muscles and breathe out.
Notice the heaviness in your body. Enjoy the feeling. Feel yourself becoming heavier and more and more deeply relaxed. Feeling calm, secure, peaceful.
Now we'll move to our arms and hands, starting with upper arms. As you breathe in, raise your wrists toward your shoulders, tightening the muscles in your upper arm. Hold. Now gently lower your arms, and breathe all the way out. You may feel a warm, burning sensation in your muscles. Feel how relaxing it is now to release that tightness, and to breathe away all tension. As you curl your upper arms again, tighten the muscles as you breathe in. Hold. Now relax your arms and breathe out.
Next. Bring your awareness to your forearms. As you breathe in, curl your hands inward as though you're trying to touch the inside of your elbows with your fingertips. Hold. Now become aware of the tension subsiding, as you relax and breathe out. Again, take a deep breath in and tighten the muscles in your forearms. Hold. And then now release. Feel the tension washing away. The relaxation sinking more and more in.
Now, take a slow deep breath in, and tightly clench your fists. Hold. And release. Notice any feelings of buzzing or throbbing, your hands becoming very soft and relaxed. Take another deep breath in, clenching your fists again. Hold. And now release. Let your fingers go limp and loose. You may notice your arms and hands feeling heavy and relaxed.
So now take a couple of nice, long, slow breaths. Relaxing even further. Feel yourself slipping even deeper into a state of complete rest.
Now tighten the muscles in your face by squeezing your eyes shut and clenching your lips together.
As you do, breathe in fully and hold. Now breathe out and relax all your facial muscles. Feel your face softening. Once more. Breathe in deeply while you scrunch the muscles in your eyes and lips. Hold. And release.
Now, bring your awareness to the muscles in your jaw. Take a deep breath in and then open your mouth as wide as you can. Hold. Exhale and allow your mouth to gently close. Again, deep slow breath in and open your mouth wide. Hold. Feel your jaw muscles stretching and tightening. Now let your mouth relax, and let your breath flood all the way out.
You're now completely relaxed from your toes to the top of your head. I hope you found this exercise to be relaxing and rejuvenating. Remember to keep checking back on my blog for more relaxation techniques and other helpful information and resources. That blog is located at www.centralmstherapysolutions.com
Take a few more minutes to rest, relax, and listen to the sound of your breathing. Enjoying the warm, lovely sensation of physical relaxation. If you have the time, you could take a quick nap. You'll likely awake feeling completely rested and relaxed.
