How to release emotional stress that we carry around in our mind and body
Nicky Vanvalkenburgh
May 04, 2008
Have you ever been in a stressful situation, where you just can't get up, walk away and physically leave? Perhaps you're dealing with a stressful boss or co-worker. If you're a stay-at-home mother, your kids might be misbehaving or acting up. Or maybe you're caring for someone sick or disabled.
All of these situations are stressful, day after day. These situations often remain the same, unchanged and constant. It's hard to relax when you're emotionally involved. You carry your emotions around in your mind and body. You feel anxious and uptight. Your neck and shoulders feel tense. What can you do to relax and let go?
Take a moment to close your eyes, and do a short progressive relaxation excercise.
Progressive relaxation was invented by Edmund Jacobson, a Chicago physican in 1929. Dr. Jacobson wrote a book in which he explained his deep muscle relaxation technique. He said it required no imagination, willpower or suggestion. His progressive relaxation technique is based on the premise that our muscles become tense when we're thinking anxious thoughts, or dealing with stressful situations.
This technique works by tensing and relaxing various parts and muscles of your body, one group at a time. Progressive relaxation is widely recommended and practiced as a natural way to reduce stress and tension.
Once you learn to relax the individual parts of your body, you can eventually relax your entire body at will. With practice and time, you will learn to identify tension signals in your body and relax instantly (as if on auto-pilot) whenever you need it. By mastering Progressive Relaxation, you learn to focus your awareness on the internal mechanisms that control the physical and mental stress relievers of the central nervous system.
All of these situations are stressful, day after day. These situations often remain the same, unchanged and constant. It's hard to relax when you're emotionally involved. You carry your emotions around in your mind and body. You feel anxious and uptight. Your neck and shoulders feel tense. What can you do to relax and let go?
Take a moment to close your eyes, and do a short progressive relaxation excercise.
Progressive relaxation was invented by Edmund Jacobson, a Chicago physican in 1929. Dr. Jacobson wrote a book in which he explained his deep muscle relaxation technique. He said it required no imagination, willpower or suggestion. His progressive relaxation technique is based on the premise that our muscles become tense when we're thinking anxious thoughts, or dealing with stressful situations.
This technique works by tensing and relaxing various parts and muscles of your body, one group at a time. Progressive relaxation is widely recommended and practiced as a natural way to reduce stress and tension.
Once you learn to relax the individual parts of your body, you can eventually relax your entire body at will. With practice and time, you will learn to identify tension signals in your body and relax instantly (as if on auto-pilot) whenever you need it. By mastering Progressive Relaxation, you learn to focus your awareness on the internal mechanisms that control the physical and mental stress relievers of the central nervous system.
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