In the 1920's Edmund Jacobson, an American physician, came up with the idea of using progressive muscle relaxation to relieve anxiety. This is a simple method of tensing and relaxing the muscles while sitting or lying prone with the eyes closed. He argued that musculature is a companion of anxiety and that by relaxing the muscles it would relieve anxiety. This was done by concentrating on various muscle groups to relieve tension.

This method, called progressive muscle relaxation (PMR), requires mental as well as physical concentration. This is not a method that one can learn overnight; it may take many weeks to learn how to do it correctly. Once learned, the PMR session usually takes about 30 minutes in total to cover the entire body. Within each stage of the method, one applies tension to a specific group of muscles for about 10 seconds, releases the tension for 20 seconds, and then moves on. This process is continued with all of the muscle groups in the body.

This type of anxiety relief requires strong mental concentration from a person. Under extreme stress, it can often be very easy for one's mind to wander aimlessly. But by keeping one's eyes closed and following a course of working each muscle group in a prescribed order, the conscious tension and relaxation procedure causes stress to recede and fade away.

Muscle groups in the arms, legs, and other portions of the body are targeted in progressive muscle relaxation. Specific techniques of tension and relaxation are applied to each of these areas. There are other methods available to people today with anxiety or other physical problems that are designed to achieve the same kind of results as Jacobson's method, including options such as Human Touch HT-136 Robotic Massage Chair.

Muscle groups are located in the upper and lower arms, legs, stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, eyes, forehead and neck. The exercises are simple and easy to do, but to be effective it is necessary that they be done faithfully over a long period of time. As one practices, it becomes easier to do and is an enjoyable way to relax. Many people have found this a very effective way to relieve their anxiety and tension thereby relieving other connecting complaints.

The upper legs are a one great example of how this program works. This exercise involves pushing your knees together, then raise them up off the surface you're laying on, and hold them together tightly for roughly 10 seconds. You'll know it's working effectively if you feel a sense of tightness around the hip area. After keeping the muscles tight the required amount of time you simply release the tension and your legs should be feeling quite relaxed. Most of the time this program starts at the feet and you work your way up. You need to train your brain to know what is feels like when the muscles are tensed, and when they're in a more relaxed state.

There's nothing more frustrating than dealing with a rough day at work and then bring all that stress and tension home with you. If you are dealing with a limited budget, this is definitely a simple and inexpensive option to relieve tension and stress. Choosing to use a system such as Jacobson 27s Progressive Muscle Relaxation means you can have the relief you need in a short amount of time.

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