Understanding Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Whether you’ve got a lot going on at work or in your personal life, everyone can feel stressed and overwhelmed from time to time. When you don’t find a healthy way to cope with these distressing emotions, it can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health.

One way to ease both the tension in your muscles and to quiet your thoughts is to practice progressive muscle relaxation. The experts at Tapestry are here to outline the benefits of using this relaxation technique and teach you how to do it.

What Exactly is Progressive Muscle Relaxation?

Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxation technique that is used to relieve stress, ease feelings of anxiety, and release built-up muscle tensions. This relaxation technique involves tensing and relaxing certain muscle groups in a certain sequence.

Some of the mental and physical benefits of utilizing this technique include:

• Easing feelings of anxiety.
• Lowered stress levels.
• Lowered blood pressure levels.
• Improved sleep.

How to Practice Progressive Muscle Relaxation

When it comes to practicing progressive muscle relaxation, it is important to find a nice quiet space where you can be alone and be free of distractions. Move through each of the following muscle groups, tensing them for 5 to 10 seconds, inhaling as you tense them and exhaling as you relax.

Start by laying on your back, working your way through the following muscle groups:

• Flex your toes
• Flex calf muscles
• Flex our quads
• Ball up your hands
• Flex our biceps
• Flex your abdominal muscles
• Raise your shoulders to your ears
• Purse your lips
• Open your mouth
• Tightly close your eyes
• Raise your eyebrows

Mental Health Resources Available at Tapestry

At Tapestry, our treatment programs are designed to provide our clients with individualized care while acknowledging their unique life experiences. Our staff members are also dedicated to understanding and treating our clients as whole people.

Whether you have questions about mental health or how to support a loved one struggling with their mental health, we are here for you. Contact us today by filling out a confidential form or give us a call at (828) 490-4032.