Background

This process of relaxation involves contraction and relaxation of the various muscles of the body in an order either in a lateral posture or in a sitting posture (Lauche et al 2013). The technique was described first by Edmund Jacobson based on the concept of psychobiological state of the body and that neuromuscular hyper tension is originated from stress and that Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) can heal the stress and anxiety related fatigue (Shinde et al 2013).

The following report will look into the effects of PMR after practicing it for series of five days.

Sunday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Indoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:15 am

Experience:

Today being the first day of the PMR activity, I was quite thrilled to start the Progressive Muscle Relaxation exercise. I consulted my trainer prior to the initiation of the exercises, who guided me with the procedures that are to be followed during the exercise. I preferred performing the exercise in a lateral posture by lying down on my back. The technique mostly includes alternate contraction and relaxation of the various muscles in an order. I started the exercise from the muscles of the legs and ankles. The toes were stretched towards the face and away from it to tense and relax the muscle of the lower legs and the ankle. The calf muscles were clenched and contracted and released along with respiration and contraction. All contractions and relaxation were done with sync to breathing in and breathing out respectively. The hips muscles were exercised next by pressing the buttocks and the hips together. Thus contracting them and releasing them to ease out tension from the region. The next region comes with the stretching of the back muscles by lifting the back in an arch type away from the ground and releasing it back to normal position. This should be done in accordance with breathing. The stomach comes next and muscle relaxation was performed by sucking the stomach in and out several times. The muscles around the chest and the abdomen were relaxed next by intense breathing in and holding it four 4 to five seconds and releasing back to normal position. The next group of muscles includes the neck and chin. The back portion of the neck was stretched away from the ground and back to relax the muscles in that region. The front portion of the neck or throat included touching of the chest with the chin. This eases out the muscle tension in the upper back region. The next exercises involved muscles of the shoulder which had to be performed in sitting posture. The shrugging of the shoulders repeatedly in a circular manner was done to relax the muscles of the shoulder. The next stage is the relaxation of the face and the head and needs to be done in a sitting posture. The muscles around the cheeks and the lips were relaxed and tensed by smiling as largely possible. The lips were pressed against each other to contract and relax these muscles. The forehead needs to be frowned and relaxed to exercise the muscles in the head and the fore head. For the muscles of the eyes, the eyes need to be closed as tightly as possible and relaxed. The remaining portion of the hands and the fore arms can be exercised by sitting. The wrists were folded and rotated around to create relaxation of the palm and the hand. The fore arms were exercised by stretching the wrists inwards and outwards from the body. This was done repeatedly to create probable effect of relaxation in the hands.

The PMR Exercise: A Personal Experience

Monday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Indoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:15 am

Experience:

The experience of the second day was quite different since the muscles were aching at the beginning, but with the start of the progressive muscle relaxation exercise the ache gradually eased out. The physical condition of my body was elevated after the PMR exercise. There was a difference in agility and flexibility in my body after the first session as compared to the condition prior to PMR. I was experiencing low back pain and shoulder stiffness prior to the PMR. This pain was a lot relieved after the first day exercise.

Tuesday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Indoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:15 am

Experience:

Day three brought more flexibility and the morning stiffness was eased away. The progressive relaxation brought more agility to the muscles and stress was gradually relieving off. My productivity at work was also increasing with mental calmness.

Wednesday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Indoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:15 am

Experience:

With the fourth day of practice, there were clear signs of relaxed attitude. The day started differently and the exercise became more of a habit and I started enjoying the progressive muscle relaxation sessions. Mental calmness and focus at work and at other activities increased substantially. I planned to add an amount of interest to the sessions and therefore, wanted to practice the sessions out door. I planned the next day session outdoor and was thrilled to experience that.

Thursday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Outdoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:15 am

Experience:

The first outdoor session started on day five. I managed to find a suitable place in the backyard in the outdoor. The outdoor environment acted like a catalyst and helped me exercise in a more relaxing way. The breathing and respirations exercises became smoother and seemed effortless in the outdoor environment. The PMR of the back and the thighs seemed to be  more effective in the outdoor environment.

Friday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Outdoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:15 am

Experience:

Day six brought different experience altogether since I could stretch the muscles longer than usual. My bowel actions and stiffness were nearly gone. I used to feel super agile and active all round the day and fatigue after work was reduced a lot.

Saturday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Outdoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

Day-wise Observations

End time: 5:20 am

Experience:

On the seventh day I extended my limit of exercise to 20 minutes. I could straight away exercise my muscle randomly according to the need with ease. The back pain and stiffness was negligible and I could perform my daily chores effortlessly. The all round fitness of the body changed along with. There were effective response in respiration and effect of stress was almost relieved.

Sunday,

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Outdoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:20 am

Experience:

The eight day brought similar experiences with growing agility and flexibility. My sleep cycle was getting better after the Progressive Muscle relaxation exercises. This added to the relieving the stress and work pressure at home. The blood circulation was bettered which I felt after checking my pulse. There was an effective change.

Monday

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Outdoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:20 am

Experience:

The immediate changes gradually started to be less prominent, yet the overall changes were prominent. I started feeling more relaxed and stress free at work and at home. The biological cycles were bettered and these were effects of continuing with the PMR exercises. My appetite also changed and the body started to gain momentum.

Tuesday

Time: 5:00 am,

Location: Outdoor

Start Time: 5:00 am

End time: 5:30 am

Experience:

I extended the progressive muscle relaxation exercises to 30 minutes after the ninth day. General differences were not that effectively noticed but muscle pains and stiffness were not there. The body stiffness was also relieved. I could continue with each muscle for a longer period of time and was energetic and highly active all day long.

Prior to the initiation of the exercise, I was experiencing severe low back pain and shoulder stiffness owing to the stress and anxiety at work and home. After consulting with my trainer I started the PMR exercise over ten day schedule and saw remarkable changes substantially. The initial days saw immediate improvement with gradual relief in pain and stress (Isa et al 2013). I observed remarkable change in the stress and anxiety relief after the initiation of the exercises. The exercises also brought agility and flexibility to the muscles that were difficult for me to stretch. The stretching and relaxation of the muscles gave more power to the individual muscles and I experienced great relief from pain, from anxiety and stress. My energy level was increased and my productivity at work increased. I started to look forward to the morning session of the progressive muscle relaxations exercises and was also increased the amount of time dedicated to it. The indoor and the outdoor experience was also overwhelming and completely different. I personally felt that the outdoor exercise sessions were more relaxing but, the indoor sessions cannot be undermined. They were effective as well. The overall accessibility and agility of the body also improved and I was feeling more relaxed while doing my daily work and was enjoying it. The progressive muscle relaxations exercises gave an insight into the effectiveness of these non drug therapies that can create a long term solution to chronic pain and stress related fatigue that we observe every day.

Chaudhuri, A., Ray, M., Saldanha, D. and Bandopadhyay, A.K., 2014. Effect of progressive muscle relaxation in female health care professionals. Annals of medical and health sciences research, 4(5), pp.791-795.

Isa, M.R., Moy, F.M., Abdul Razack, A.H., Zainuddin, Z.M. and Zainal, N.Z., 2013. Impact of applied progressive deep muscle relaxation training on the level of depression, anxiety and stress among prostate cancer patients: a quasi-experimental study. Asian Pac J Cancer Prev, 14(4), pp.2237-42.

Lauche, R., Materdey, S., Cramer, H., Haller, H., Stange, R., Dobos, G. and Rampp, T., 2013. Effectiveness of home-based cupping massage compared to progressive muscle relaxation in patients with chronic neck pain—a randomized controlled trial. PloS one, 8(6), p.e65378.

Limsanon, T. and Kalayasiri, R., 2015. Preliminary effects of progressive muscle relaxation on cigarette craving and withdrawal symptoms in experienced smokers in acute cigarette abstinence: a randomized controlled trial. Behavior therapy, 46(2), pp.166-176.

Shinde, N., Shinde, K.J., Khatri, S.M. and Hande, D., 2013. Immediate effect of Jacobson’s progressive muscular relaxation in hypertension. Indian Journal of Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy, 7(3), p.234.