Practice
progressive relaxation by tensing, holding, and abruptly relaxing the
following muscle groups, in order, for the time indicated. Once
you've had some practice, you can make changes as necessary. While
these groups do not include every muscle in the body, this process
relaxes the larger "leader" muscles, and smaller muscles will
generally become relaxed automatically.
Group 1:
The first muscle group is your dominant hand, wrist and lower arm –
right if you are right-handed, left if you are left-handed. Tense
these muscles by making a tight fist. You should feel tension
throughout your hand and arm. While tensing the muscles, inhale
deeply, until your lungs are full, and exhale completely.
After five to ten seconds, release the fist abruptly – do not
try to be gradual.
Group 2: This
group consists of your upper arm on the dominant side. You can tense
these muscles by pressing your arm against your chest, the floor,
your bed, or some other suitable surface. Once again, hold the
tension for five to ten seconds. As in every case, try not to disturb
the muscles of the previous muscle group. This becomes much easier
with practice.
Groups 3 & 4:
These two groups are a repeat of the first two, done on your
non-dominant side. Repeat the procedures above, paying attention to
the sensations of tension and relaxation that result. Learning to
recognize stress before it becomes pain is important to maximizing
your benefits from progressive relaxation.
Group 5: This
group consists of the face and jaw muscles. To tense this group,
tighten your jaw so that your teeth are together, but do not press
down with great force. Wrinkle your nose and forehead and stretch
back the corners of your mouth as far as you can. You should hold
this position for only about five seconds; though it's generally
easier to feel the resulting relaxation from this group than some of
the others, if repeated too quickly or too long, it can result in a
headache.