Tensing Muscles to Relieve Tension and Relax... I'm Serious

One of the things I briefly referenced in the previous post about cold stimulation of the vagus nerve is the relationship between muscle tension and relaxation paired with parasympathetic activation.

I wanted to share a little bit more information about this specific relaxation technique because it can be employed on its own pretty much anywhere. It's called progressive muscle relaxation and can be performed a variety of ways.

The purpose of this technique is to force physical relaxation of the muscles that we tense from stress and anxiety. I found this article from University of Michigan last year, which I am linking here. There is some additional information if you're interested, but I am linking primarily because they give very specific step-by-step instructions and a list of body parts to tense each time if you want a full body experience... A top to tail progressive muscle relaxation session, if you will.

The shoulder shrug is my personal favorite since that's the thing that's almost always tense as heck.

Stay regulated,

Shauna