Stress can wreak havoc on a person living with a chronic illness, increasing inflammation and pain, raising blood pressure and interrupting sleep. Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR), developed by Edmund Jacobson, PhD, nearly a century ago, can help ease stress and anxiety, release tension in the body and boost overall energy levels.
PMR involves tensing and then relaxing groups of muscles in sequence. In just a few minutes, your body and mind will be calmer.
PMR in 10 easy steps.
For each muscle group tense for 10 seconds and release taking a few deep breaths as you notice sensation that comes as muscles relax. Skip areas that cause pain when tensing.
1. Sit in a comfortable position, with eyes closed. Take a few deep breaths, expanding your belly as you breathe air in and contracting it as you exhale.
2. Begin at the top of your body, and go down. Start with your head, tensing your facial muscles, squeezing your eyes shut, puckering your mouth and clenching your jaw. Hold, then release and breathe.
3. Tense as you lift your shoulders to your ears, hold, then release and breathe.
4. Make a fist with your right hand tighten the muscles in your lower and upper arm, hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left hand.
5. Concentrate on your back, squeezing shoulder blades together. Hold, then release. Breathe in and out.
6. Suck in your stomach. Hold, then release. Breathe in and out.
7. Clench your buttocks. Hold, then release. Breathe in and out.
8. Tighten your right hamstring. Hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left hamstring.
9. Flex your right calf. Hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left calf.
10. Tighten toes on your right foot. Hold, then release. Breathe in and out. Repeat with left foot.
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