Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training

We designed this video to help learn the skill of "progressive muscle relaxation." This is a skill that builds awareness of muscle tension in your body and (with daily practice) allows you to release that tension when you want to. The video takes about 15 minutes to complete. The movements for the exercise are shown by the blue figure, to help you know how to tense and relate the different muscle groups.

[@bakhshimusafir625]

First, when my doctor told me to do this exercise! I said ok and did ;but it didn't work, I said it's ridiculous and and wasting time! The next day I did again it worked unbelievable! Now I do everyday and it work like miracle. I'm thankful from the person who created this and my doctor who suggested me! I suggest to everyone to experience this exercise, best wishes Bakhshi.

[@nahlaa49]

Thanks ☺️ thank goodness 😅 you have no clue 🕵️

[@Brooke-mf5jc]

my therapist showed me this 5 years ago and i still use it😳😳

[@markconnelly3610]

Awesome, thanks for the positive feedback!

[@afrinahammed]

Me too

[@kaseysgaminggamer4895]

Why do I feel so relaxed and open minded now it’s weird I’m normally under so much stress thanks you 💙

[@vfish6727]

I feel relaxed and invigorated. The visual and audio on this video add up to a complete and very effective experience. Thank you. Val

[@jasminep2794]

This is fabulous. I love the visual cues. So wonderful! thank you

[@julesb1395]

Simple and effective. Thank you! 💛

[@jeswanthgrandhi]

Very very helpful and amazing. Thanks a million.

[@minervaromero1519]

Súper útil. Muchas gracias!

[@marcoalvarez2367]

Excellent. Thank you.

[@phoneboy5525]

Thank you for this video

[@theresalim1183]

Thank you!

[@jeffepstein228]

Thank you very much for producing this video. Very helpful. Awesome. Keep up the great work.

[@malcolmpike8980]

Great video. It has taught me how to relax; thank you.

[@ashwolftheva2891]

I feel very refreshed and I feel so much better about my self

[@trialsite1982]

Great video. Thank you

[@marybehill6638]

That was excellent. I felt some dopamine release into my body. I shared this with a friend, and they said they felt "looser." Thank you very much! :)

[@markconnelly3610]

Thanks for sharing!!

[@umbre04]

I do this all the time to control and manage my anxiety

[@markconnelly3610]

Awesome, thanks for sharing!

[@catw7020]

So helpful thank u

[@monsieurm6975]

Thank you so much for you posting your PMR onto KZbin for all those who benefit from progressive muscle relaxation , whatever the cause be it illness or chronic condition or simply, 15 minutes a day to observe the almost natural tightness that we carry in every corner of our body without knowing it. Your video is wonderful; it is also a great length, not too long or short and most important, it is very effective and I have tried many PMR videos - I simply wanted to say thank you so much for making a little bit of difference in my daily routine !

[@3boOod2012]

Excellent video👍👍👍 thanks

[@sapnokior]

Thanks 😍

[@julesb1395]

Namaste.... Nice exercise 🌸

[@abrarmohammed6878]

Great job

[@isabelgm444]

Thank you for this wonderful video!!!! I love it !!!😍😍😍💜💙❤️

[@markconnelly3610]

Great, thanks for sharing!

[@sibraan]

It's a good exercise for stress relief

[@QueenieKoopa]

this is great.

[@LynnsCustomJewelry]

Very relaxing!!! Thx!

[@VKP604]

finally some non-woo woo total body relaxation video!

[@savithaprabhu9674]

very informative and helpful

[@jackthrockmorton7211]

Would you allow me to use this video for a sleep reasearch experiment i am conducting for a masters thesis? I would of course mention where i found my resources.

[@e1tt5y]

Muchas gracias Thank you great video I hope it will help me

[@Shafie_chan]

Thnx for this video

[@07mitso]

this s a v nice video,beautifully described,appealing,kind of description n video i wanted 2 see 2 learn. described in Such a beautiful manner that no one can 4get!!!simple n clear.

[@Tjs964]

I'm not sure whether to hold breath when tensing the muscles or breath normally. It seems like it's a normal reaction to hold breath while tensing the muscle group. I"m not sure that it matters whether you hold the breath or not. It probably matters how long one keeps the muscle tensed, but that's not mentioned here. In the video, it only demonstrates a few seconds of tensing the muscle. Any thoughts?

[@markconnelly3610]

Sorry that I did not notice this posted comment, I do not usually monitor this site. Generally if I am teaching this I have people breathe naturally - and do not have them hold their breath when tensing, since sometimes focusing on holding your breath can increase anxiety to the point of interfering with the intent of the exercise. The focus of the exercise is intended to be more on training your brain to better identify muscle tension and ultimately to create muscle relaxation more or less on command - so I do not typically have people focus too much on the breathing aspect beyond just telling them to allow air to move naturally in and out and having the belly rise when breathing in, and fall when breathing out.

[@carolinekrause1093]

Amazing video!

[@tomcharlton]

this is a very good quality video and audio

[@subhashinim2040]

Super video

[@patmurphy4045]

Wonderful! I suffer from anxiety and thus helps a lot!

[@schoutjeffrey3650]

Hi, can someone tell me if you should breath out and then relax? Or is it both at the same time?

[@markconnelly3610]

Whatever feels more natural to you - I am not aware of any science that says one way is better than the other. When I am teaching people this technique I typically coach them to breathe out and relax tension at the same time, and I think that's more common and natural, but not necessarily more effective per se!

[@NurSingAccademy0102]

Thanks for which I am going to conduct research on cancer patients

[@am_hackathons9049]

Hi, I am a computer science engineering student. I wanted to take permission for linking your video within an app that my team is making for promoting self-care for a hackathon. May we go ahead and use it?

[@markconnelly3610]

Sorry for a delayed response, I had not been checking comments for quite some time. Yes it is fine to use for that purpose (if not too late), thanks for checking.

[@btsarmyyyaaa1995]

Do we exhale through our mouth in this exercise? Or through our nose?

[@markconnelly3610]

To my knowledge there is still no research to suggest one way is better than the other - so whatever is most comfortable to you is fine! I usually teach it as breathing through the nose and out through the mouth, and I think that is how most people teach breathing for relaxation, but it does not HAVE to be that way.

[@Impossibly-Possible]

I have too much tension to make more with a fist or any other muscle.

[@markconnelly3610]

It is okay to then just focus on relaxing that muscle group. Over time, the goal is to no longer need the tension part of the exercise anyway and to just train yourself on how to notice tension and relax muscles as needed.

[@learnmore-medicine]

Hi! I want to ask you Mark as a video owner and creator for your permission to use this great video on my KZbin channel. I think that our russian patients deserve to get some relief in their pain problems too. There is no russian voiceover, so I would like to make it (I'm not going to use video in commercial purposes, just for education). If there is no problem to use it your direct answer is not needed, I just don't want to have my channels banned . Of course you get all income from possible commercials if there will be enough view, as it's intended by KZbin. Thanks!

[@markconnelly3610]

I had not seen this comment, sorry, but yes, it is definitely fine to adapt and use for that purpose.

[@karlariannesantiago4512]

Hi, Doctor Connelly. We are wondering if we can use this video in conducting PMR to one of our experimental groups in our thesis study? Your response will be of great help to us! :)

[@markconnelly3610]

Sorry for a delayed response, I had not been checking comments for a while. Sure, you can use the video, we just ask that you mention the video source.

[@nicolemiller9620]

Hello, I am a high school health educator and was wondering if there is a written script for this video somewhere? Thank you!

[@headachereliefguide1386]

Sorry, this site for the most part is unmonitored, so I didn't see this until now. If you happen to still check back, here is what I think was the final script: "Begin by allowing your body to get more comfortable wherever you are right now…. Take some full, slow breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth... Allow any distracting thoughts to come and go, as if you are watching them floating down a stream, and guide your attention back to your slow and easy breathing. When you’re ready, breathe in and make a tight fist with your right hand. Hold, and focus on what that tension feels like to you… Now breathe out and release all the tension in the fist. Let your hand become nice and loose... Again, make a tight fist with the right hand and hold it like that.... Then, let go the tension and let the hand relax fully. Focus on what your hand feels like to you when it is relaxed… Next, slowly breathe in and bring your right forearm up to your shoulder and tighten your upper arm. Hold… Now, breathe out and release… Again, make a muscle with your right arm. Hold and focus on what the tension feels like in your upper arm…. Now, breathe out slowly and relax your arm. Breathe in and now make a tight fist with your left hand. Hold the tension… Exhale and release. Let the tightness and discomfort flow all the way out of your hand. Again, make a tight fist with your left hand and hold….Exhale and release…. Breathe in again and bring the left forearm up to your shoulder to “make a muscle.” Hold, and focus on the tension in your arm... Slowly breathe out and "release.” Notice how that feels… Again, make a muscle with your left arm and hold it there….Now exhale and release. Now take a long breath in and raise your eyebrows as high as they will go. Hold… Exhale and release, letting relaxation smooth across your forehead…. Breathe in again and raise your eyebrows as high as they will go. Hold. Release and breathe out slowly…. Next, squeeze your eyes tightly shut and make a tight smile. Notice how that tension feels... Breathe out and release, relaxing your eyes and cheeks…. Breathe in again and squeeze your eyes closed. Hold…Exhale and release the tension… Now slowly open your mouth wide, and hold it there… Exhale and release. Notice what that feels like to you…Again, open your mouth and hold….Release and breathe out slowly. Next, slowly and carefully pull your head back as though you are looking up at the ceiling. Hold…Exhale, and slowly return your head to whatever position is most comfortable to you. Study what that relaxation feels like to you….Again, breathe in and pull your head back slowly. Hold…. Exhale and slowly release… Inhale and push your shoulders up towards your ears. Hold them there for a moment… Exhale and "release." Let all of tightness flow completely out of your shoulders… Again, breathe in and bring your shoulders up to your ears. Hold. Exhale and release. Study what your shoulders now feel like to you. Now, breathe in and push your shoulder blades back, trying to almost touch them together. Hold that tension…. Now exhale, letting your shoulders and chest relax all at once… Again, push your shoulders blades back and your chest forward. Hold. Release and breathe out slowly. Breathe in slowly and now let your chest and stomach expand all the way, like a balloon filling with air. Hold... Slowly exhale, releasing all the tension from your chest and stomach… Again, breathe in fully and let your stomach and chest push out... Exhale and release. Next, tighten your thighs so that you’re pushing yourself up a bit out of your chair, and hold… Exhale and release, taking note of what it feels like in your upper legs… Again, tighten up your thighs and hold… Exhale and release. Now slowly pull the toes on your right foot up toward your shin, stretching your calf muscle. Hold the tension... Exhale and release… Again, pull your toes up, tightening your calf muscle, and hold...Release and breathe out slowly, noticing what that the right foot now feels like to you… Breathe in and now curl the toes of the right foot downwards, and hold that tension… Exhale and release…Again, curl the toes of your right foot downwards, and hold…. Exhale and release, and study what that feels like... Next, slowly pull the toes on your left foot up toward your shin, stretching your calf muscle. Hold the tension… Exhale and release…Again, slowly pull your toes up, tightening your calf muscle, and hold…Exhale and release... Breathe in and now curl the toes of the left foot downwards. Hold… Exhale and release. Again, curl the toes of your right foot downwards and hold...Breathe out slowly and release… You have done a great job going through this relaxation exercise. Continue to take some slow, easy breaths. For the next few moments, just notice what your body feels like and enjoy the success you’ve had in being able to relax your body. Keep that feeling with you throughout the day and remember how good it can feel to be relaxed in your body. Whenever you’re ready, take some time to slowly wiggle your muscles around a little. Then count backwards from 5 to 1 to end this exercise ."

[@eminekarabiber300]

Türkçesi yokmu

[@kaungzaw3389]

Thank you!