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What Makes Progressive Muscle Relaxation So Effective?

Try it and see.

Progressive muscle relaxation is simple and powerful.  It’s name tells you exactly what it is.  You basically relax each muscle in succession.  This is very useful in getting your body primed for meditation, hypnosis, sleep, or many other relaxing activities.  It can also trigger your relaxation response, which is a wonderful benefit.

Here’s how to do Progressive Muscle Relaxation:

1. Lie down or sit up straight in a chair.

2. Become aware of your breathing.

3. Slowly inhale through your nose, hold for a few seconds, then exhale slowly out of your mouth.

4. Repeat that a few times.

5. Tense your feet and hold for a count of ten.

5. Release the tension and feel them relax.

7. Move up to your calves and repeat.

8. Repeat this for every muscle that you are aware of. Continue to move up the body and you’ll son discover areas of tension that you didn’t even know were tense.

9. Slowly inhale, hold for a few seconds, then exhale. Imagine all the tension and stress flowing out of your body.

10. Sit or lie there and feel relaxed and calm. Make a mental note of how it feels. This will allow you to return to this feeling again as you practice more.

Don’t get discouraged if it doesn’t work the first few times. Practice makes perfect here, and the effects are cumulative.

Over time, this method will become easier and faster, and you’ll be able to enter a relaxed state at will, or with minimal effort. You’ll begin noticing cumulative positive effects to your mind and body.

Next we’ll discuss Autogenic Training.

Manduka

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