Progressive Relaxation Technique II

The Progressive Relaxation Technique was created by Chicago physician Edmund Jacobson. He was the first person to accurately measure the electrical impulses in human muscles, nerves, and mental activities. In his study and treatment of stress, he proved that excessive or unresolved (i.e. residual) tension has a direct and causal relationship with both mental and physical illnesses; tension shortens the muscular fibers which causes a decrease in the central nervous system activity. He also determined that intentional and directed muscular tension and relaxation can relieve anxiety and stress, as well as being effective against ulcers, insomnia, and high blood pressure.

This led to the publication of his book Progressive Relaxation in 1929, followed by You Must Relax in 1934. His original works contained approximately 200 exercises to effect relaxation. Today, the Progressive Relaxation Technique practiced by most people has been reduced to fewer than 20 exercises, but does cover all the major muscle groups.

What it is:

Progressive relaxation is an excellent, natural practice that gives you the control to relax all your tense muscles, and practice deep breathing at the same time.

If you find yourself becoming tense and uncomfortable at home or work during the day, either mentally, emotionally, or physically, you can do the steps of the technique that address the area of your tension without performing the entire routine. For example, if mental tension has caused a headache, you would want to concentrate on relaxing the areas of the shoulders, neck, and head. Emotional tension such as anger or frustration is often centered in the hands, arms, and torso; abdominal, chest, and hand/arm exercises would be appropriate. Physical discomfort caused by sitting or standing in a fixed position for long periods of time may be reduced or eliminated by performing muscular tensing and relaxing on the affected leg and back areas.

If you suffer from insomnia, regularly doing this technique in bed before going to sleep will help you to get to sleep quicker, and stay asleep throughout the night. It may take a few weeks for this technique to become a fully effective sleep aid, but each time you do it, it will bring you closer and closer to a natural good night’s sleep. The progressive relaxation technique has proven over time to be a very effective sleep aid without the risk of side effects or dependency you have on medications. In fact, safety questions have arisen concerning some sleep-inducing drugs since people have exhibited short-term memory loss while taking the drugs, rare but bizarre side effects like binge eating, and severe withdrawal symptoms, even seizures, if the drug use is abruptly halted.¹ Nature is safer!

Where to start:

You may be seated or lying for this exercise.

If you are seated in a chair, place both your feet flat on the floor, and let your arms rest by your sides. Your hands may rest at your sides or in your lap. If you are in an armchair, do not rest your arms or elbows on the chair arms. Doing so will push your shoulders upward and tense the muscles in your arms, shoulders and neck.

If you are lying, be comfortable. You may want a pillow beneath your head and another under your knees if you like. If you are using this exercise as a sleep aid, you will want to be in bed and ready for sleep.

While performing this technique, it also is beneficial to visualize your muscular tension flow out of your body or sink into the ground as you relax each muscle group. (This is called Autogenic Training.) Your physical body responds to the thoughts provided through your visual imagery or visualization, and you will be further relaxed by thinking thoughts of warmth and relaxation. (Note: don’t ever visualize or think of stimulating activity while trying to relax! You will be working against yourself.)

Pay attention to how you feel while relaxing, and use the memory of feeling warm, comfortable, and relaxed as part of your visualization for your next relaxation session. Each time you do this, the memory becomes stronger and more influential in aiding you in your comfort and wellness.

As always, if you have any medical condition, consult your doctor before performing this technique. If you experience discomfort or pain while performing the technique, Stop Immediately! People who are prone to foot or leg cramps may want to either skip the foot and leg sections of the technique, or only slightly tense the foot and leg muscles.

How to do it:

To begin, take between five and ten cleansing breaths; inhale deeply and slowly through the nose while counting three seconds (never inhale through the mouth). Exhale fully while counting three seconds, and imagine your tension leaving your body. You may exhale through the nose or the mouth. While taking your cleansing breaths, tell yourself how great and relaxed you are going to feel when you have finished Progressive Relaxation. If practicing before sleep, tell yourself how well you are going to sleep and how rested and wonderful you are going to feel in the morning.

My original article outlined the following instructions in a different order, starting at the foot and ending at the head. Today, I give those instructions in an order that is (I believe) closer to the original order of tensing and relaxing the muscular groups as outlined by Dr. Jacobson.

1. Hands. Inhale to the count of five while clenching your fingers into fists and bending the wrist inward. Exhale to the count of five while stretching out and relaxing your fingers, and bending your wrist outward. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

2. Arms. Inhale to the count of five while bending your arms at the elbows and clenching the upper and lower arm muscles. Exhale to the count of five while stretching out your arms. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

3. Shoulders. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your shoulder muscles. You may want to hunch your shoulders forward to tense the muscles, then relax; then hunch the shoulders backward, then relax. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your shoulders. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

4. Neck. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your neck muscles. To deliberately tense the neck muscles, you may want to pull your head down as if you were a turtle pulling its head into its shell, or slowly and gently tilt your head from side to side or front to back, or turn your head from side to side. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your neck. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

5. Face. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your facial muscles. Instructions include, each to the count of five:

• pursing the lips and then opening the mouth as wide as possible;
• closing the eyes and then opening the eyes as wide as possible;
• pushing your tongue into the roof of your mouth and then into the bottom of your mouth.

Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your facial muscles. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

6. Chest. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your chest muscles. You may need to cross your arms in front of you to do this. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your chest muscles. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

7. Back. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your back muscles. You may need to arch your back slightly to do this. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your back muscles. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

8. Derriere. Inhale to the count of five while constricting the muscles in your buttocks. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your buttocks. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

9. Thighs. Inhale to the count of five while tensing the muscles in your thighs. It may help to raise your leg an inch or so to tense the thigh muscles; raise the leg just enough to engage the thigh muscles, don’t do leg lifts. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your thighs; lower your legs if you raised them. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

10. Abdomen. Inhale to the count of five while expanding or pushing out the muscles in your abdomen. Exhale to the count of five while contracting or pulling in your abdominal muscles. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

11. Feet and calves. Inhale to the count of five while pointing your toes up and your heel away from you to flex feet and calves. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your feet and calves. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

12. Toes. Inhale to the count of five while curling your toes and pointing your toes down and away from you. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your foot. Feel warm and comfortable. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

¹ “Bizarre events linked to sleeping pills in US” Reuters news article, March 15, 2006 http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060315/hl_nm/insomnia_dc

Holistic Ways to Cure Insomnia

Whether you suffer occasional or chronic insomnia, you often turn immediately to pharmaceutical sleep aids to get the rest you need, but this should not be your first line of offence against sleeplessness.

For one thing, the side effects can be devastating. They interfere with daytime brain cell activity and reduce short-term memory function; are highly addictive; affect lung tissue function; impair reaction time when awake; can impair physical motor function by making you clumsy and accident prone, and experience difficulty manipulating objects or completing tasks; do not cure or even improve insomnia. In fact, one study evaluating a survey of over 2,000,000 people found that extensive use of sleeping pills was as deadly as cigarette smoking. (source: Apollo Health)

Even though sleep aids put you to sleep, their use does not allow your body to relax through the four stages of sleep, and that effectively robs you of one of the most curative properties of sleep, the progressive relaxation of the muscles and the effect that has on your body systems; for example slower respiration and heart rate. Taking a sleep aid that robs you of experience of the four stages of sleep is like jumping down the elevator shaft instead of waiting for the elevator car – sure, you get to the bottom (to sleep), but at what cost to your health and wellbeing?

The quality of your sleep is important, too, not just the fact you are unconscious. A normal sleep pattern includes the four stages of relaxation sleep and one stage of REM sleep, Rapid Eye Movement, the dream stage of sleep. This cycle repeats approximately every ninety minutes throughout the night, so that you should experience four to five cycles with each night's sleep. Without experiencing the requisite number of these complete sleep cycles, including REM sleep, you will not experience the rejuvenating rest you need to help heal your body and restore your energy. Lack of proper sleep and rest can lead to serious illness.

Growth hormone is at its highest level during sleep, and is responsible for the increased rate of nutrient and amino acid absorption into your blood stream, aids the healing of tissue, and stimulates production of immune system cells. Additionally, irregular sleep cycles disrupt your body's manufacture of the hormone melatonin. "Melatonin also acts as a powerful antioxidant to clean our cells of toxins. When we don’t sleep well, our bodies don’t use melatonin efficiently and we can suffer from premature aging, heart risks and cancer. Low nighttime levels of melatonin may cause higher levels of estrogens and breast cancer in women as well as colon and bone cancer in men. Melatonin imbalances are also believed to be a cause of depression." (source: Apollo Health)

Uninterrupted sleep is important, too. A group of medical students at the University of Toronto Center for Sleep and Chronobiology agreed to have their sleep interrupted in a study on the natural rhythms of sleep. After a few nights of being awakened during their deep sleep levels, the volunteers developed symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia.

To insure you have an excellent, restorative night's sleep, here is a list of effective, holistic sleep aids that you will find beneficial.

1 Spend some early-morning time in bright light; outside in sunlight is best if possible. This stirs you fully awake and helps to regulate your inner clock so that you will be sleepy at night. Any amount of time you can spend soaking up some natural sunlight will benefit your health and wellbeing.

2. Get some exercise a few hours before bed. A walk after dinner in fresh air is perfect; you get exercise and it aids digestion. Avoid going to bed on a full stomach; it will make you uncomfortable and often leads to indigestion. Don't exercise too close to bedtime; it will keep you awake. Contrary to popular belief, exercise is a pick-me-up and a perk-me-up, it does not make you tired or sleepy!

3 Take a warm bath or shower. Relaxing in warm water for ten to twenty minutes before retiring for the night relaxes muscles which gets you ready for sleep. (My husband happened to take a shower this morning and commented that he felt like taking a nap after basking in the warm waters!)

4 Have a small snack. My earlier article on chocolate pointed out that chocolate triggers the release of endorphins, your body's natural "feel good," relaxing, pain relievers. A cup of hot cocoa could be just the thing to help you sleep. A carbohydrate snack would be good, too; carbohydrates help your brain produce serotonin, another hormone that produces relaxation. (See How to Eat Right to Reduce Stress and Friday Food Pharmacy: Pasta and Other Grain Products.) Alternatively, a cup of herbal tea containing ingredients for relaxation may be appropriate – try chamomile, lavender, or lemon balm. (These three herbs are very easy to grow in the garden, or indoors in pots. What could be better than a cup of tea made with fresh herbs?!) Always sweeten with natural ingredients if you need sweetener; avoid the use of sugar.

5 Go to bed at the same time every night. The body is a creature of habit even if the mind is not. Going to bed at the same time every night will develop a good habit and train your body to be prepared for sleep when you climb between the covers.

6 Go to sleep in silence, and in the dark. Even though you think it doesn't, playing the television or radio does disturb your sleep with unusual or unexpected noises and sounds during the night. If you must have sound to lull you to sleep, try a white noise machine, or put the tv/radio on a timer so it will shut off 30 to 45 minutes later. That should give you enough time to drift off to sleep. You do not want to leave a television on all night while you sleep. The light from a television is bright enough to interfere with the production of melatonin; the health risks of low levels of melatonin were discussed above. Sleep experts say that any light brighter than a nightlight can impede melatonin production. For the same reason, if your digital clock has exceptionally bright numerals, turn the face of the clock away from the bed.

7 If you find yourself tossing and turning, get up. Again, you can train your body to sleep in bed by getting out of bed if you can't sleep. Go into another room and read a book for a few minutes, play a game of solitaire, get a snack, write down a list of the things that are keeping you awake. Sometimes the reason you can't sleep is that things from the day are bothering you, or you don't want to forget things that must be done the next day. Making that list will allow your mind to relax, let go of the things troubling you, and you can rest assured that you won't overlook an important task or appointment the next day.

8 Follow the instructions in the Progressive Relaxation Technique posted here last July. This is one of the best relaxation techniques I have ever used both for myself and with clients.

9 Try a visualization. Imagine yourself in a beautiful, relaxing setting, a lazy evening on the beach watching the moon rise, an evening in the forest listening to the crickets chirping, or any other quiet and restful setting. You can even create a story about the wonderful day you just had, the relaxing and enjoyable things you are going to do tomorrow. Beware of creating too much excitement, though. Your body responds to your thoughts as if they were real commands sent to your muscles for action, so if you imagine yourself hiking through the jungle, you are only going to excite muscles you want to relax.

10 Make sure the room is a comfortable temperature. Most people sleep better in a cool room; if your room is even a few degrees too warm, it can make a difference. Try turning the temperature down to the 65 degree range (18 degrees C.) Likewise, make sure your bedclothes are of the right fabric weight for the season, and don't make you too warm. Keep the window open, at least a little, if it isn't too cold or hot outside; most people sleep better with some fresh air at hand.

11 Check the firmness of your mattress and pillows; make sure your sheets and blankets are soft, not scratchy. Sleep surfaces that are too firm, too soft, or otherwise not quite right can cause enough discomfort to wake you during the night, interrupting those very important and restorative sleep cycles. Also, some people are sensitive to foam pillow stuffing, so if you are sleepy but have trouble falling asleep, or if you wake during the night for no apparent reason, try a pillow with a different (perhaps more natural) stuffing material.

I'll leave you with these holistic words of wisdom from WebMD: "Overlooking the single most important thing you can do for your health is easy with all the clamor surrounding various health products in the marketplace. But good-quality sleep goes far and beyond those products when it comes to restoring your health. And best of all, sleep is free."

Progressive Relaxation Technique

Originally published in my "Natural Stress-Free Living" newsletter of July 16, 2006. Just click on the heading or follow the link in the sidebar to subscribe.


Progressive Relaxation Technique

What it is:

Progressive relaxation is an excellent, natural practice that gives you the control to relax all your tense muscles, and practice deep breathing at the same time.

If you find yourself becoming tense and uncomfortable at home or work during the day, either mentally, emotionally, or physically, you can do the steps of the technique that address the area of your tension without performing the entire routine. For example, if mental tension has caused a headache, you would want to concentrate on relaxing the areas of the shoulders, neck, and head. Emotional tension such as anger or frustration is often centered in the hands, arms, and torso; abdominal, chest, and hand/arm exercises would be appropriate. Physical discomfort caused by sitting or standing in a fixed position for long periods of time may be reduced or eliminated by performing muscular tensing and relaxing on the affected leg and back areas.

If you suffer from insomnia, regularly doing this technique in bed before going to sleep will help you to get to sleep quicker, and stay asleep throughout the night. It may take a few weeks for this technique to become a fully effective sleep aid, but each time you do it, it will bring you closer and closer to a natural good night’s sleep. The progressive relaxation technique has proven over time to be a very effective sleep aid without the risk of side effects or dependency you have on medications. In fact, safety questions have arisen concerning some sleep-inducing drugs since people have exhibited short-term memory loss while taking the drugs, rare but bizarre side effects like binge eating, and severe withdrawal symptoms, even seizures, if the drug use is abruptly halted.¹ Nature is safer!

For many years, I have used this exact progressive relaxation technique at the beginning of my meditation sessions. It is very safe and effective!

Where to start:

You may be seated or lying for this exercise.

If you are seated in a chair, place both your feet flat on the floor, and let your arms rest by your sides. Your hands may rest at your sides or in your lap. If you are in an armchair, do not rest your arms or elbows on the chair arms. Doing so will push your shoulders upward and tense the muscles in your arms, shoulders and neck.

If you are lying, be comfortable. You may want a pillow beneath your head and another under your knees if you like. If you are using this exercise as a sleep aid, you will want to be in bed and ready for sleep.

While performing this technique, it also is beneficial to visualize your muscular tension flow out of your body or sink into the ground as you relax each muscle group. Your physical body responds to the thoughts provided through your visual imagery or visualization, and you will be further relaxed by thinking thoughts of warmth and relaxation. (Note: don’t ever visualize or think of stimulating activity while trying to relax! You will be working against yourself.)

Pay attention to how you feel while relaxing, and use the memory of feeling warm, comfortable, and relaxed as part of your visualization for your next relaxation session. Each time you do this, the memory becomes stronger and more influential in aiding you in your comfort and wellness.

As always, if you have any medical condition, consult your doctor before performing this technique. If you experience discomfort or pain while performing the technique, Stop Immediately! People who are prone to foot or leg cramps may want to either skip the foot and leg sections of the technique, or only slightly tense the foot and leg muscles.

How to do it:

To begin, take between five and ten cleansing breaths; inhale deeply and slowly through the nose while counting three seconds (never inhale through the mouth). Exhale fully while counting three seconds, and imagine your tension leaving your body. You may exhale through the nose or the mouth. While taking your cleansing breaths, tell yourself how great and relaxed you are going to feel when you have finished Progressive Relaxation. If practicing before sleep, tell yourself how well you are going to sleep and how rested and wonderful you are going to feel in the morning.

1. Foot and ankle. Inhale to the count of five while pointing your toes down and away from you. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your foot. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

2. Feet and calves. Inhale to the count of five while pointing your toes up and your heel away from you to flex feet and calves. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your feet and calves. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

3. Thighs. Inhale to the count of five while tensing the muscles in your thighs. It may help to raise your leg an inch or so to tense the thigh muscles; raise the leg just enough to engage the thigh muscles, don’t do leg lifts. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your thighs; lower your legs if you raised them. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

4. Derriere. Inhale to the count of five while constricting the muscles in your buttocks. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your buttocks. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

5. Abdomen. Inhale to the count of five while expanding or pushing out the muscles in your abdomen. Exhale to the count of five while contracting or pulling in your abdominal muscles. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

6. Back. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your back muscles. You may need to arch your back slightly to do this. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your back muscles. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

7. Chest. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your chest muscles. You may need to cross your arms in front of you to do this. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your chest muscles. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

8. Hands. Inhale to the count of five while clenching your fingers into fists and bending the wrist inward. Exhale to the count of five while stretching out and relaxing your fingers, and bending your wrist outward. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

9. Arms. Inhale to the count of five while bending your arms at the elbows and clenching the upper and lower arm muscles. Exhale to the count of five while stretching out your arms. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

10. Shoulders. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your shoulder muscles. You may want to hunch your shoulders to tense the muscles. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your shoulders. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

11. Neck. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your neck muscles. To deliberately tense the neck muscles, you may want to pull your head down as if you were a turtle pulling its head into its shell, or slowly and gently tilt your head from side to side or front to back. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your neck. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

12. Face. Inhale to the count of five while tensing your facial muscles by exaggerating the movements you might make if you bit into something very sour…lips pursed, eyes closed tightly, nose wrinkled up. Exhale to the count of five while relaxing your facial muscles. Visualize tension either flowing away, or sinking into the ground.

¹ “Bizarre events linked to sleeping pills in US” Reuters news article, March 15, 2006