Living Well and Healthy, Part 11

Muscle Groups and Procedure.  Pick a place where you can lie down on your back and stretch out comfortably.  Tense each muscle group for 4 to 10 seconds (hard but not to the point of cramping), then give yourself 10 to 20 seconds to release it and relax.  At various points, review the muscle groups and relax each one a little more each time.

How to Tense Muscle Groups:

• Hands: Clench them.
• Wrists and forearms: Extend them and bend the hands back at the wrist.
• Biceps and upper arms: Clench your hands into fists, bend your arms at the elbows, and flex your biceps.
• Shoulders:  Shrug them. (Check the arms and shoulders area for tension).
• Forehead: Wrinkle it into a deep frown.
• Around the eyes and bridge of the nose:  Close your eyes as tightly as possible. (Remove contact lenses before beginning the exercise).
• Cheeks and jaws:  Grin from ear to ear.
• Around the mouth:  Press your lips together tightly. (Check the face area for tension).
• Back of the neck: Press your head back hard.
• Front of the neck:  Touch your chin to your chest. (Check the neck and head area for tension).
• Chest: Take a deep breath and hold it; then exhale.
• Back: Arch your back up and away from the floor.
• Stomach: Suck it into a tight knot. (Check the chest and stomach area for tension).
• Hips and buttocks: Press the buttocks together tightly.
• Thighs: Clench them hard.
• Lower legs: Point your toes toward your face, as if trying to bring the toes up to touch your head.
• Lower legs: Point your toes away and curl them downward at the same time. (Check the area from the waist down for tension).

When you are finished, return to alertness by counting backwards from five to one.

Relaxation Response.  The relaxation response is the exact opposite of a stress response.  It slows heart rate and breathing, lowers blood pressure, and helps relieve muscle tension.

Techniques (adapted from Herbert Benson, M.D.):

1. Sit quietly in a comfortable position with your eyes closed.
2. Begin progressive muscle relaxation.

(Techniques 3 to 5 will appear next Monday, 10 June 2013, including how to take care of your teeth. – J.P.)