Progressive Muscle Relaxation - Free & Simple Stress Relief
Progressive Muscle Relaxation - A Simple Way to Mitigate Stress
How Often Do You Invest in Genuine Relaxation? 🙏
You'll have plenty of stressors in your life.
How many of these cause you stress on a regular basis?
Finances?
Relationships?
Health?
Sleep?
Workload?
Deadlines?
Commuting?
Social anxiety?
Crime and world news?
Some stress is good.
If it were completely absent, you could lack stimulation and find yourself in a boring, moribund state.
Some stress can be exciting, manageable, inspiring and short-term. It can boost your focus, energy and performance.
The problem is when stress becomes persistent, with too little opportunity for recovery.
What About Relaxation?
What do you do on a daily basis to mitigate stress and give yourself the opportunity to really rest, relax and digest?
The most common answer I hear from clients is...
Well, not much. 🤷
Sometimes television. 📺
Sometimes alcohol. 🍷
Sometimes something genuinely relaxing, such as a massage, but perhaps only once a month. 📅
So, as part of working with clients, we explore what could realistically fit into their lifestyle.
One particularly interesting, science-based option is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR).
Progressive Muscle Relaxation: What Is It?
How Does PMR Work?
Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a simple two-step technique.
You intentionally tense and then release different muscle groups throughout your body.
The process helps you become more aware of physical tension while deliberately practising the transition from tension to relaxation.
This is combined with slow, mindful breathing.
When you're starting out, following a verbal guide can make the process much easier.
This is the one I recommend. It works very well.
17 minute guided progressive muscle relaxation practice
What Does Research Say About Progressive Muscle Relaxation?
A comprehensive review of human trials published in 2024 found that Progressive Muscle Relaxation was associated with:
📉 Reduced stress
📉 Reduced anxiety
📉 Reduced depression
As with any research, the quality and design of the individual studies matter, and PMR isn't a magic solution for every cause of stress.
But the appeal is obvious.
Why Is PMR Worth Trying?
It's Free and Accessible
Progressive Muscle Relaxation has several practical advantages.
🆓 It's free
🏠 It can be practised at home
🌍 It requires very little space
⏱️ It can be relatively short
🧘 No specialist equipment is required
📚 It's straightforward to learn
Perhaps most importantly, it gives you something active to do in response to stress.
Rather than simply waiting for stress to disappear, you're deliberately creating an opportunity for your body and mind to shift towards relaxation.
How Could You Start?
Start With the Longer Practice
The 17-minute practice would be my preferred starting point.
17 minute guided Progressive Muscle Relaxation
It gives you enough time to experience the technique properly without feeling that you have to rush through it.
Once you've become familiar with the process, you can experiment with shorter sessions.
Then Try the Shorter Version
The 6-minute practice may work particularly well once you've had some experience with PMR.
It could be easier to fit into a busy working day, perhaps between meetings, after work or before bed.
The aim isn't to create another task on your to-do list.
It's to create a practical opportunity to switch off.
The Bottom Line
Stress isn't inherently bad.
In the right context, it can energise us, sharpen our focus and help us perform.
Recovery matters too.
If your life contains plenty of stress but very little deliberate relaxation, Progressive Muscle Relaxation is one simple, evidence-informed technique worth experimenting with.
It's free, easy to learn and can be practised almost anywhere.
You don't need to wait until you're overwhelmed to start.
Build small opportunities for relaxation into your normal week and see whether you notice a difference.
Do you already use Progressive Muscle Relaxation?
Have you found it helpful?
Or is this something you're going to try? 🤞
My clients enjoy clear, specific, actionable guidance on how to use diet, supplementation, lifestyle and functional testing to reach their personal health goals and resolve their health issues.
Why not book a Personal Health Strategy call to find out how we would enable better health for you? 📲
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