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Stress Management: Doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation
The procedure
You can use an audio recording to help you focus on each muscle group, or you can learn the order of muscle groups and do the exercises from memory. Choose a place where you won't be interrupted and where you can lie down on your back and stretch out comfortably, such as a carpeted floor.
- Breathe in, and tense the first muscle group (hard but not to the point of cramping) for 4 to 10 seconds.
- Breathe out, and suddenly and completely relax the muscle group (do not relax it gradually).
- Relax for 10 to 20 seconds before you work on the next muscle group.
- When you are finished with all of the muscle groups, count backward from 5 to 1 to bring your focus back to the present.
After you have learned how to tense and relax each muscle group, here's something else to try. When you have a very tense muscle, you can practice tensing and relaxing that muscle area without going through the whole routine.
The muscle groups
The following is a list of the muscle groups in order and how to tense them. Remember to lie down when you do this.
Muscle group | What to do |
Hands: | Clench them. |
Wrists and forearms: | Extend them, and bend your hands back at the wrist. |
Biceps and upper arms: | Clench your hands into fists, bend your arms at the elbows, and flex your biceps. |
Shoulders: | Shrug them (raise toward your ears). |
Forehead: | Wrinkle it into a deep frown. |
Around the eyes and bridge of the nose: | Close your eyes as tightly as you can. (Remove contact lenses before you start the exercise.) |
Cheeks and jaws: | Smile as widely as you can. |
Around the mouth: | Press your lips together tightly. (Check your face for tension. You just want to use your lips.) |
Back of the neck: | Press the back of your head against the floor. |
Front of the neck: | Touch your chin to your chest. (Try not to create tension in your neck and head.) |
Chest: | Take a deep breath, and hold it for 4 to 10 seconds. |
Back: | Arch your back up and away from the floor. |
Stomach: | Suck it into a tight knot. (Check your chest and stomach for tension.) |
Hips and buttocks: | Press your buttocks together tightly. |
Thighs: | Clench them hard. |
Lower legs: | Point your toes toward your face. Then point your toes away, and curl them downward at the same time. (Check the area from your waist down for tension.) |
Test Your Knowledge
When you first start, it may be helpful to use an audio recording until you learn all the muscle groups in order.
TrueAn audio recording can be helpful at first to guide you through the muscle groups. Using an audio recording may also help you tense and relax your muscles for the right amount of time. After a while, you may be able to do this on your own.
FalseAn audio recording can be helpful at first to guide you through the muscle groups. Using an audio recording may also help you tense and relax your muscles for the right amount of time. After a while, you may be able to do this on your own.
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Stress Management: Doing Progressive Muscle Relaxation
| By: | Healthwise Staff | Last Revised: May 11, 2010 |
| Medical Review: | Kathleen Romito, MD - Family Medicine Lisa S. Weinstock, MD - Psychiatry | |
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