Treat Your Body To Some Zen With Progressive Muscle Relaxation

How To Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation

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PMR is best done lying down, however, you can do it sitting up. And the good news is that you can do it anywhere, like at your desk or when you’re sitting in a doctor’s office (a stressful event that can call for some PMR).

Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. Close your eyes so as to reduce unnecessary stimuli. You want your full attention on your breath and on your muscle groups. The next progression of actions can be done starting at the toes, and moving all the way up the body to the head. Or, starting at the head and moving all the way down to the toes.

Take a couple of large belly breaths to relax the body and get centered. Now, focus on just one small muscle group, like the toes. Inhale and squeeze (or tense) that muscle group, holding that breath and tension for about five seconds. Then release the breath and relax the muscles for about 10 seconds.

Really focus on the sensations in that area now. Consider how different it feels after this progression. Do this all the way up the body, keeping each step as focused as possible, concentrating on a small muscle group. You can move up to the calves, knees, thighs, lower abdomen, chest and so on.

When you are finished, you should feel that your whole body is more relaxed than when you began.