Tension Relief: Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise

Have you ever ended your day with so much tension all over your body that you don’t know where it begins and where it ends?

If you answered yes, you’re not alone! The majority of people carry their stressors of their day in their body and oftentimes find themselves at the end of the day with so many aches and pains they could have sworn they ran a marathon.

If you feel:

• Neck tension

• Tight shoulders

• Tension headaches

• Sore arms

• Back pain

These are a few examples of how the stressors of your day could be impacting your body.

While we always want to get an opinion of a medical provider to rule out anything serious, especially for long term or excruciating pain - when we know it may be due to stress there are different techniques we can utilize to allow our bodies to begin to unwind and not continue to take on all of the heaviness of the day.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a popular tool precisely for this.

What is progressive muscle relaxation??!

PMR is a technique that allows your body to drift into a state of relaxation by alternating intentional muscle tension and release in specific areas throughout the body.

When we intentionally go into these areas and alternate the muscle groups between exaggerated tension and relaxation we facilitate a release and also become familiar with how our bodies feel in these two different states.

To practice this on your own, move through the major muscle groups: face, jaw, neck and shoulders, arms and hands, back and core, glutes, legs, and feet.

Hold tension by exaggerating it in each area for 15 seconds, then slowly release it for 30 seconds.

If you'd rather have someone lead you through the process check out this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86HUcX8ZtAk

There are so many different types of progressive muscle relaxation practices out there. What is most important is that you are finding one that you enjoy and that works best for you!

I automatically went into practicing this while creating this letter and am already feeling much more relaxed. I hope you find the same in your practicing of it!

Yours in wellness & healing,

Angela

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