Progressive Muscle Relaxation Technique
Objective: The objective of this activity is to help the participants to reduce their muscle
tensions induced by stress.
Duration: 10-15 minutes
Background
Various studies have found how stress can affect our physical state and vice-versa.
When we are experiencing stress, especially distress, different areas of our body such as
stomach, joints and muscles become tensed and consequently caused body pains. The
distress we are experiencing in the mind gradually reflects on our physical responses, making
the distress become more overwhelming and unmanageable.
In 1930s, Dr. Edmund Jacobson discovered that releasing muscle tensions could help
relax not just the body but the mind as well. In his hope to help his patients with anxiety, he
invented the Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) technique which involves tensing or
tightening, one muscle group at a time followed by a relaxation phase with release of the
tension.
From the time that it was invented and utilized by many, a lot of published studies
have found how PMR is beneficial to reduce stress, anxiety, tension and other health
benefits. This technique is extremely commendable as its benefits encompass not just the
common distress, we are perceiving generally within ourselves, it can also address
workplace distress which people have been commonly experiencing too in their everyday
lives. In fact, in a study conducted by Sundram, B. et. al (2015), the improvement in stress
levels of their participants was significant that it showed the potential of PMR therapy as a
coping strategy at the workplace.
Procedure (Instructions for Participants)
Watch video for detailed demonstration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihO02wUzgkc
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.
1. Breathe in and tense the first muscle group (hard but not to the point of pain
or cramping) for 4 to 10 seconds.
2. Breathe out, and suddenly and completely relax the muscle group (do not
relax it gradually).
3. Relax for 10 to 20 seconds before you work on the next muscle group.
4. When you are finished with all of the muscle groups, count backward from 5
to 1 to bring your focus back to the present.
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
Close your eyes as tightly as you can. (Remove contact
lenses before you start the exercise.)
nose
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 or chair.
Touch your chin to your chest. (Try not to create tension
Front of the neck
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 or chair.
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.)
Processing Questions:
1. What have you felt during the activity?
2. Have you notice the difference between your tensed and relaxed muscles?
Describe it.
3. What are you feeling right now? Was the activity any helpful? How?
References:
Goldman,R. (2020). What is Jacobson Relaxation Technique?. Retrieved from
https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-jacobson-relaxationtechnique#TOC_TITLE_HDR_1
Nunez, K. (2020). The Benefits of Progressive Muscle Relaxation and How to Do It?.
Retrieved
from
https://www.healthline.com/health/progressive-musclerelaxation#benefits
Stoppler, M. (2011). What Causes Stress? Stress Management. Retrieved by
https://www.medicinenet.com/stress/article.html
Sundram, B. M., Dahlui, M., & Chinna, K. (2016). Effectiveness of progressive muscle
relaxation therapy as a worksite health promotion program in the automobile assembly
line. Industrial health, 54(3), 204–214. https://doi.org/10.2486/indhealth.2014-0091
DETAILED FULL SCRIPT FOR PMR DEMONSTRATION
"Begin by allowing your body to get more comfortable wherever you are right now…. Take
some full, slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth... Allow any
distracting thoughts to come and go, as if you are watching them floating down a stream,
and guide your attention back to your slow and easy breathing. When you’re ready,
breathe in and make a tight fist with your right hand. Hold, and focus on what that tension
feels like to you… Now breathe out and release all the tension in the fist. Let your hand
become nice and loose... Again, make a tight fist with the right hand and hold it like that....
Then, let go the tension and let the hand relax fully. Focus on what your hand feels like
to you when it is relaxed… Next, slowly breathe in and bring your right forearm up to your
shoulder and tighten your upper arm. Hold… Now, breathe out and release… Again,
make a muscle with your right arm. Hold and focus on what the tension feels like in your
upper arm…. Now, breathe out slowly and relax your arm. Breathe in and now make a
tight fist with your left hand. Hold the tension… Exhale and release. Let the tightness and
discomfort flow all the way out of your hand. Again, make a tight fist with your left hand
and hold….Exhale and release…. Breathe in again and bring the left forearm up to your
shoulder to “make a muscle.” Hold, and focus on the tension in your arm... Slowly breathe
out and "release.” Notice how that feels… Again, make a muscle with your left arm and
hold it there….Now exhale and release. Now take a long breath in and raise your
eyebrows as high as they will go. Hold… Exhale and release, letting relaxation smooth
across your forehead…. Breathe in again and raise your eyebrows as high as they will
go. Hold. Release and breathe out slowly…. Next, squeeze your eyes tightly shut and
make a tight smile. Notice how that tension feels... Breathe out and release, relaxing your
eyes and cheeks…. Breathe in again and squeeze your eyes closed. Hold…Exhale and
release the tension… Now slowly open your mouth wide, and hold it there… Exhale and
release. Notice what that feels like to you…Again, open your mouth and hold….Release
and breathe out slowly. Next, slowly and carefully pull your head back as though you are
looking up at the ceiling. Hold…Exhale, and slowly return your head to whatever position
is most comfortable to you. Study what that relaxation feels like to you….Again, breathe
in and pull your head back slowly. Hold…. Exhale and slowly release… Inhale and push
your shoulders up towards your ears. Hold them there for a moment… Exhale and
"release." Let all of tightness flow completely out of your shoulders… Again, breathe in
and bring your shoulders up to your ears. Hold. Exhale and release. Study what your
shoulders now feel like to you. Now, breathe in and push your shoulder blades back,
trying to almost touch them together. Hold that tension…. Now exhale, letting your
shoulders and chest relax all at once… Again, push your shoulders blades back and your
chest forward. Hold. Release and breathe out slowly. Breathe in slowly and now let your
chest and stomach expand all the way, like a balloon filling with air. Hold... Slowly exhale,
releasing all the tension from your chest and stomach… Again, breathe in fully and let
your stomach and chest push out... Exhale and release. Next, tighten your thighs so that
you’re pushing yourself up a bit out of your chair, and hold… Exhale and release, taking
note of what it feels like in your upper legs… Again, tighten up your thighs and hold…
Exhale and release. Now slowly pull the toes on your right foot up toward your shin,
stretching your calf muscle. Hold the tension... Exhale and release… Again, pull your toes
up, tightening your calf muscle, and hold...Release and breathe out slowly, noticing what
that the right foot now feels like to you… Breathe in and now curl the toes of the right foot
downwards, and hold that tension… Exhale and release…Again, curl the toes of your
right foot downwards, and hold…. Exhale and release, and study what that feels like...
Next, slowly pull the toes on your left foot up toward your shin, stretching your calf muscle.
Hold the tension… Exhale and release…Again, slowly pull your toes up, tightening your
calf muscle, and hold…Exhale and release... Breathe in and now curl the toes of the left
foot downwards. Hold… Exhale and release. Again, curl the toes of your right foot
downwards and hold...Breathe out slowly and release… You have done a great job going
through this relaxation exercise. Continue to take some slow, easy breaths. For the next
few moments, just notice what your body feels like and enjoy the success you’ve had in
being able to relax your body. Keep that feeling with you throughout the day and
remember how good it can feel to be relaxed in your body. Whenever you’re ready, take
some time to slowly wiggle your muscles around a little. Then count backwards from 5 to
1 to end this exercise ."