How to relax facial muscles. Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Technique Description

Muscle relaxation is one of the most common methods of psychotherapy today.

Its action is aimed at reducing the level of stress on the body, which directly depends on the dysfunction of the neuromuscular system.

A person must be able to distinguish between tension and relaxation, as well as be able to manage them. You can learn this at any time.

As a result of complete relaxation, it is possible to master a universal remedy that can cope with almost all diseases of the nervous system caused by constant stress. You can recover from insomnia, hypertension, headaches, anxiety that does not leave you and prevent the development of a number of other diseases.

Effective Muscle Relaxation: The Progressive Neuromuscular Relaxation Technique

To begin with, the patient should visit a doctor and consult with him. It will help to identify any contraindications for such a procedure. Deviations such as neurological disorders, insufficient training or muscle damage, and bone pathology are possible.

The place for the exercises should be comfortable, quiet and darkened, which will allow you to completely relax and concentrate your attention on the processes taking place in the body. Nothing should hinder the movement of a person.

It is best to use loose clothing, exercise without shoes and accessories such as glasses. The body of the patient must have a stable support (this does not apply to the neck and head), so that he could not fall asleep during the session.

Each person should grasp the difference between spontaneously occurring muscle spasms and directed muscle tension.

• In the first case, pain occurs in the joints and ligaments, accompanied by unpleasant spontaneous trembling of the muscles. This state of affairs leads to their excessive stress.
• In the second case, only a slightly unpleasant feeling of constriction occurs in the tensed muscle, nothing more.

During the exercise, the patient should never hold his breath. It should be normal or consist of inhaling at the moment of muscle tension and exhalation at the moment of their relaxation.

First of all, attention should be paid to the muscles of the lower parts of the body, and last - the face. Repeated tension of the muscles of the organs is unacceptable.

Even before the start of the relaxation session, you should give yourself a clear set for the consistent relaxation of each muscle in your body. This will achieve the most effective result.

How to achieve complete relaxation of the body

Lean back a little and take a comfortable position. Get rid of restrictive clothing, shoes and accessories. Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing, it should be correct and calm. Feel your lungs filling with air, pausing for 30 seconds as you inhale.

Consider the relaxation of the body, or rather each of its parts separately.

• Rib cage

Deep inhale, hold the breath, relax and exhale. Try to empty your lungs completely and restore your normal breathing pattern. On inhalation, some tension should appear in the chest area, on exhalation - complete relaxation of the muscles. Repeat the exercise several times in a row, resting for 5-10 seconds.

• Feet and shins

Both feet should be in contact with the floor with their entire surface. Stand on your toes, stay in this position for a while and relax. Sit down on your heels should be smooth, without making sudden movements. If there is a slight tension in the back of the calf muscles, then the exercise is performed correctly. At the moment of relaxation, a slight tingling sensation and a surge of warmth may appear.

To strengthen the opposite muscle group, you should stand on your heels, while raising your socks as high as possible. A few seconds of tension and then relaxation. After these actions, a feeling of heaviness should appear in the lower parts of the legs. After each exercise, you should take a break of 20 seconds.

• Hips and abdomen

Straighten your legs, lift them up and stay in that position. The calves should be relaxed. After a while, slowly lower your legs to the floor. In this case, the thigh muscles should feel some tension.

• Hands

Squeeze both hands into fists, hold them in this state and relax. This exercise is well suited for those who write or type a lot and often. You can spread your fingers in different directions, hold them in this state and also relax. In the area of ​​​​the hands and forearms, a feeling of warmth or a slight tingling should appear. Between exercises, you should pause for 20 seconds.

• Face

Smile as wide as possible, stay in this state and relax. Do the same with pursed lips. Pay attention to your eyes. Close them tightly, raise your eyebrows, then relax. Pause between exercises 15 seconds.

Thus, it is achieved complete relaxation of the body .

When muscle relaxation has been achieved, you can move into the wakefulness stage. Count from 1 to 10, focusing on yourself and the world around you. Open your eyes and feel cheerfulness, a surge of strength and freshness.

Arbitrary muscle relaxation (relaxation) is based on the ability of a person to mentally, using a figurative representation, turn off the muscles from impulses coming from the motor centers of the brain. Under the influence of relaxation, the muscles of the whole body become as if sluggish. At the same time, a pleasant feeling of languor, lightness appears. Proper general muscle relaxation is associated with a feeling of relaxation and peace. A ten-minute rest in this position, combined with proper breathing, restores strength and ability to work in the same way as sleep. General muscle relaxation is recommended for everyone, but it is especially necessary for people with a strong and quick reaction to external stimuli. Nervous people are prone to exaggeration. They recover quickly and get tired pretty quickly. People with a slow and weak reaction, as well as hypotension (with low blood pressure), after relaxing the muscles, must do several exercises (lying stretch, straining the muscles of the limbs and the whole body; standing “push the wall”, straining the muscles of the arms and legs). In this case, you need to breathe voluntarily, but during the effort, a short breath hold after exhalation is acceptable. When mastering muscle relaxation, one should avoid habitual involuntary movements in everyday life - twitching of the shoulders, the habit of wrinkling the forehead, excessive gestures, etc. By avoiding involuntary movements, we save nervous energy. This does not mean that you should sit or stand in a relaxed posture with a sullen expression on your face. A person, regardless of the situation, should always be friendly. This is where self-indulgence begins. Remember the rule: at the moment of muscle relaxation, do not think about anything. This is helped by the representation of the sensation of cold in the forehead, as well as breathing in combination with self-hypnosis: inhalation - “I drive away thoughts in the same way”, exhalation - “how I put out the light if it bothers me.” When the skill of general relaxation of the muscles of the body has been mastered, one should learn to recall from memory the feeling of warming of the hands and feet (both alternately). This exercise allows you to consciously regulate the inflow and outflow of blood. The highest degree of relaxation (passive state of the muscles) is the dulling of sensitivity. Conscious control of breathing and muscle tone leads to the development of neuromotor regulation. That is why you need to master these exercises separately and in combination with proper breathing. In our methodology, we use several techniques that help to master the relaxation technique. These techniques are: the method of imitation (imitation); method of comfortable position, lying down; method of changing tension and relaxing muscles; breathing "in a circle"; verbal method. These techniques can be used separately or in combination, depending on individual characteristics, which contributes to a more rapid development of muscle relaxation techniques. Relaxation exercise is especially useful for those muscles that are in constant tension in a working position. In these muscles, a feeling of aches and pains is usually felt. Relaxation exercises should be combined with industrial gymnastics.

Change in muscle tension and relaxation

This exercise perfectly complements the methods described above, because the transition from muscle tension to muscle relaxation not only reinforces the skills of complete relaxation, but at the same time contributes to a faster recovery of expended energy. The change of tension and relaxation (especially rhythmic) is the gymnastics of the autonomic centers of the nervous system. Two types of these exercises are described below, which in different versions are useful to use not only in morning exercises, but also for therapeutic purposes.

Exercise 1

The method of imitation (imitation of a seen or imagined phenomenon, state) sometimes helps to feel such a tone (the level of excitation of nerve centers or activity of organs and tissues, for example, muscle tension), which is commonly called relaxation. The so-called "coachman's position" is nothing more than a half-asleep sitting state. This posture is reminiscent of the position of a coachman sitting on a box (hence its name) or a person who is dozing while sitting in a carriage. It is recommended to perform this exercise in a sitting position on the edge of a chair near the table so that the legs are half-bent and half a step apart, the hands (with interlaced fingers) hang between the legs (or rest on the edge of the table), the torso and head are tilted forward; while in this position, you should close your eyes, breathe shallowly with the diaphragm (belly) and feel the relaxation of the muscles along the spine. This posture contributes to the feeling of "weightlessness" (lightness) of the body. If, at the same time, imagine that the tongue has become sluggish, and the neck “hangs” without any tension, then a slight drowsiness will appear. Staying in this position, when extraneous thoughts appear, begin to follow your breathing - this switching of attention is especially useful if you were somehow out of sorts before doing the exercise. One should remain in this half-drowsy posture as long as it is pleasant, because the duration of the posture is determined by the general state and inner mood. The session should end after verbal self-hypnosis. Repeat each phrase 3-6 times: “Feeling of languor improves the activity of the nerve centers”; “I rested, I am peaceful.” To feel the change in muscle tension with their relaxation, we offer three ways: Sitting on the edge of a chair, raise your half-bent leg and feel with your fingers "flaccid" state of her muscles. Or: while sitting, press the floor with your feet and feel a rather strong tension in the muscles of the legs, then raise the half-bent leg and feel the relaxation of the muscles by palpation. Sitting on the edge of a chair with bent legs (the distance between the feet is half a step), figuratively imagine that the muscles of the legs are relaxed. Then push your knees inward with your hands. If the knees bounce freely and easily to the sides after touching, this means that you have learned to consciously relax the muscles of the legs. Using a change in tension and relaxation of the muscles of the legs, it is possible to help improve venous circulation in varicose veins and train the vessels of the extremities with obliterating endarteritis. The change of tension and relaxation of muscles should be performed rhythmically (at a comfortable pace) and breathe with the diaphragm (stomach). Standing in front of a partner, one should figuratively imagine that the muscles of the arms are relaxed. Then the partner swings your arms to the sides (holding them by the hands) 4-6 times and immediately releases them at the height of the wave of the arms. If the arms fall like whips, this means that the muscles of the arms are subject to voluntary relaxation. A variant of this task is the sensation of muscle relaxation in a standing position, as it were, on one leg, which is achieved by consciously transferring the center of gravity of the body to the supporting leg.

Exercise 2

The method of comfortable lying position. The optimal body position in physical culture is used as one of the types of exercises that help relieve pain (for example, with a stomach ulcer, with angina pectoris, etc.). Note that swaying with a relaxed left hand (achieved by light movements of the torso) in combination with diaphragmatic breathing and verbal reinforcement (“I feel lighter, lighter and lighter”) sometimes relieves discomfort in the heart area. You can relieve the pain of a stomach ulcer if you lie down in a certain position (for example, on your side with your legs crossed, or otherwise, focusing on an individual feeling of relief) and at the same time breathe in a diaphragmatic type of breathing (stomach) so that inhalation and exhalation are barely noticeable. When acquiring the skills of conscious (voluntary, active) muscle relaxation, one should also use those body positions that contribute to the feeling of its lightness, “weightlessness”. The choice of body position depends on the habit of a comfortable posture during sleep and on the nature of a chronic disease. So, with sciatica, it is convenient for someone to relax, half-sitting in a chair, and for someone lying on their stomach or on their side, etc. We emphasize that the best position for relaxing muscles is only one that eventually leads to a feeling of languor, lightness and pacification (as if you are lying in a warm bath without any tension). Being in any of the above positions, you should breathe shallowly in a harmonious full type of breathing, because the body's need for oxygen is small. At the same time, one must mentally pronounce “a-o-um”, feeling that when pronouncing “a”, the lower lobes of the lungs are filled, when pronouncing “o” - the middle ones, and when “mind” - the upper ones (as if the jet goes to the head). Exhale through the mouth in a narrow stream, as if enveloping the body in a “spiral” from head to toe. At the same time, you need to close your eyes and, if after exhaling you don’t feel like breathing, say a short phrase: “I am peaceful, joyfully disposed.”

Exercise 3

Exercise 3 - "pull the rope." Performed standing, feet shoulder-width apart. Figuratively imagine that above you, at the height of outstretched arms, a rope hangs. Rising on your toes - inhale, as you exhale, you grab the “rope” with your hands and pull it down with effort, bending your arms and squatting a little. Repeat these movements 2-3 times, while feeling muscle tension. After doing the exercise three times, you should sit down comfortably, relaxing as much as possible all the muscles of the body.

Exercise 4

"Pharaoh's Pose". The “Pharaoh’s Pose” (conditional name) is remarkable in that it allows you to “turn off” thoughts (including obsessive ones) for a moment while you are actively, quickly, concentratedly and carefully doing the exercise. It is performed in this way: sit on the edge of a chair, bend your knees, cross your feet so that it is convenient to lean on your toes (as when lifting on your toes). Hands spread out to the sides, palms up, fingers clenched into a fist. After inhaling and holding the breath (for 2-3 s), it is necessary to simultaneously and instantly strongly press the toes to the floor, strain the muscles of the hands (squeezing the fingers into a fist). Lengthening the neck and lowering the chin (the spine is stretched), you need to stubbornly and intently look forward at one point. After performing the pose, you should lie down on the couch for 10-20 seconds, relaxing all the muscles of the body, or take this position while sitting on a chair. If extraneous thoughts appear during rest, begin to actively monitor the process of breathing. The exercise should be repeated 2-3 times in a row.

Exercise 5

Breathing in a circle. An elongated breath goes, as it were, along the left side of the body (from the big toe of the left foot up to the head), and a long exhalation goes along the right side of the body, starting from the head, down the right leg to the big toe of the right foot.

Exercise 6

verbal method. For consistent relaxation of various muscle groups, we offer the following exercise, which is convenient to perform before bedtime. Lie comfortably on your back. Hands along the body or behind the head. Close eyes. Figuratively imagine that the muscles of the body relax in parts, starting with the feet. Gradually relaxing the muscles of the feet, legs, hips, pelvis, torso, neck, face, it is necessary to accompany the relaxation of each part of the body with a mentally pronounced phrase: “Feet, knees relax ...”, etc. After sequential relaxation, you must mentally try to relax the muscles of everything body. Then you need to pay attention to the relaxation of the tongue, vocal cords, jaw (the lower jaw, as it were, sags). This muscle relaxation is the first phase. Its duration is approximately 5 minutes. Breathe calmly without controlling your breath. When a feeling of relaxation of the muscles of the whole body is achieved, it is necessary to imagine that you are overcome by languor and the body is becoming lighter. This feeling should be reinforced with the phrase: "All the muscles relaxed." In the second phase of the general relaxation of the muscles of the body, it is necessary to monitor breathing. During each exhalation, one must figuratively imagine that the body is becoming lighter and lighter (“I am like a cloud floating in the sky”). The duration of the second phase is 5 minutes. As mentioned above, the choice of method for mastering relaxation techniques (or a combination of several methods) depends on temperament, the type of higher nervous activity and the neuropsychic state. The skills of a conscious change in muscle tone are not an end in itself, they, along with the ability to control the breathing process, constitute that neuropsychological background, which is an indispensable condition for treating a disease and maintaining health, working capacity and cheerfulness. The art of controlling breathing and muscle tone, along with physical (active) exercises and self-hypnosis, protects against the harmful effects of stressful conditions, which excessively weaken the body's resistance to oxygen deficiency. That is why psychophysical training as a component of physical education, physical therapy and psychotherapy in everyday life is of vital importance.

Exercise 7

The combination of figurative representation with movement. The main goal: to develop the ability for figurative representations and the perception of verbal self-suggestion in a state of relaxation. Sit on the edge of a chair with legs crossed (support on fingers). Straighten your spine at ease, pull your chin in a little, put your hands on your hips with your palms up. Breathe harmoniously with a full type of breathing twice. Breathe four times as follows: during a harmoniously full breath, mentally pronounce “ah-o-um” (take a breath as if in three steps), during an elongated exhalation (with eyes closed) feel the relaxation of the muscles of the body (the chest drops, the head, relax muscles of the face, legs). Walk around the room for 3-4 breathing cycles (one cycle - inhale and exhale), maintaining good posture. Sit in the same position. Inhale, mentally pronouncing "ah-o-um." Hold your breath for 1-2 seconds and at this time figuratively imagine yourself cheerful and healthy, and on an extended exhalation, feel the relaxation of the muscles and after exhaling, tensing the muscles of the hands, mentally say: "I am cheerful, creative, active." The task is repeated 6-8 times. Then stand up vigorously. Jog for one minute, putting your foot on the whole foot. For hypotensive patients after running, we recommend push-ups, exercises with dumbbells (balls), 10-20 squats and 15-30 jumps, then walk around until breathing calms down. Jogging can be replaced by "shaking" against the wall. You need to stand half a step away from the wall, lightly lean your fingers against the wall and “run” without lifting your toes off the floor (heels rhythmically rise and fall - alternately or simultaneously). This exercise helps to move venous blood from the legs to the heart. After that, walk around, breathing deeply. Rest lying on your back (bend your legs to relax your abdominals) and as you exhale say: “Workout rewards me with joy and optimism.” Then, during exhalation, protrude and retract the stomach 3 times (in order to stimulate the solar plexus). Repeat the task 2-3 times, then stand up vigorously, sit down comfortably, relaxing the muscles, and mentally (with eyes closed) repeat one of the following formulas 5-10 times: Nerve centers act in concert. I want and can be more and more active.” “Exercise improves health. I feel overpowered."

Muscle relaxation

A significant part of muscle tension is acquired, therefore, with the help of regular training and certain exercises, it can be eliminated. Relaxation is a skill that can be developed and used to overcome psycho-emotional problems and find peace.

The ancient Greeks highly valued sports and reasonable physical activity, because they noticed that with their help the body is unloaded not only from excess energy, tension and muscle clamps, but also from the emotional oppression of problems. Therefore, regular muscle work gives a good vitality, is the prevention of hypodynamia, allows you to peacefully throw out feelings and stresses.

Training is used as the main relaxation technique in modern psychotherapy. progressive muscle relaxation. What makes it special is its simplicity in learning and application, and most importantly, this training is based on physiological mechanisms and therefore has an effect, regardless of the strength of self-hypnosis and faith in this exercise. The only option when progressive muscle relaxation will not give a positive effect is if you do not complete this exercise, do not bring the load to the required level.

Back in 1929, Edmund Jacobson described the basics of relaxation training in his book Progressive Relaxation. It is also known as neuromuscular relaxation (NMR). Based on the results of experiments, Jacobson proved that emotional reactions are projected into the body in the form of muscle tension. That is, the law of conservation of energy fully operates in the mental sphere. Figuratively speaking, the psychic energy that has arisen (if emotions have not been manifested) does not dissolve into non-existence, but passes into the energy of muscle tension, and we are not always aware of this. People who do not adequately express their emotions and do not know how to properly release tension often form the so-called “muscle shell”. Over time, unspoken emotions turn into muscle clamps, which, in turn, negatively affect the psychological state of a person and lead to the development of bodily ailments, such as hypertension.

The stronger the emotional stress, the more pronounced the tension of the skeletal muscles. Such a reaction

due to the presence of cortico-muscular connections: excessive tension of the cerebral cortex leads to immediate muscle excitation. There is also a feedback - relaxed muscles form the conditions for inhibition of the activity of the cells of the cerebral cortex. The question inevitably arises: how to effectively relax the muscles? Jacobson proposed to achieve relaxation, using not passive inactivity, but active load - by increasing the load on the muscles, causing them to overwork and - a paradox! – the subsequent inevitable relaxation.

The forced modification of this method brought to your attention allows you to achieve relaxation through tension, using overwork (created due to rapid and intense static muscle tension) and subsequent natural physiological relaxation of the muscles.

AN EXERCISE

Before doing the exercise, take a few seconds to muscle stretching and tendons, as well as warming up the joints. Then we move on to the exercise itself.

Let's start with arm and shoulder muscles. Clench your hands tightly into fists. Mentally count ten seconds, calmly and slowly. At the same time, hold the maximum muscle tension for all ten seconds. The meaning of this tactic is to keep muscle tension at a constantly high level: while you are tensing up, the muscles begin to gradually get tired and “waste” the energy charge that was thrown into them by the emotional “explosion”.

Now engage the muscles of the forearm (the forearm is the part of the arm located between the wrist and elbow joints). To qualitatively strain the muscles of the forearms, bend your arms at the wrist joints, bringing your fists as close as possible to the inner parts of the forearms. Muscles that could not be strained in this area should be tried to be reduced by volitional effort.

The next stage is the tension of the muscles of the shoulders. Do the same as in the previous steps, plus spread your arms to the sides, bend them at the elbows and tighten the corresponding muscles with all possible force. You should take the pose of an athlete showing off your biceps. Feel the tension in your shoulders.

Moving on - tension back muscles. In order to achieve tension in this area and do it safely for the back and spine, it is necessary, firstly, to bring the shoulder blades together as much as possible and, secondly, to lower them down from this position. Then you can feel how your spine has taken the position of the so-called "spinal column". It is in the “pillar” position that the vertebrae are located one above the other and you do not risk “pinching the roots” or “knocking out” the discs with an awkward movement or lifting weights. We need such a position of the spine for a safe and at the same time strong tension of the back muscles. So, tighten your back along with the tension of the muscles of the hand, forearm, shoulder, that is, with everything that you did earlier. Mentally count from one to ten.

Now let's move on to the most difficult part of the work - facial muscles. The face is the main expression of our emotions, from joy to aggression. Schematically, it can be divided into three parts: the upper part includes the forehead and eyebrows, the middle one - the eyes and nose, the lower one consists of the jaws, lips and cheekbones. Let's try to strain all three muscle groups in turn. To tense your forehead, you can forcefully raise your eyebrows or bring them together with an effort. It is better to use raising and lowering the eyebrows alternately. Focus on the feeling of tense forehead muscles and try to remember it.

Next, move on to the tension of the middle zone, namely, the muscles surrounding the eyes and nose. First, close your eyes tightly, as if you had soap in your eyes, or as children do when they are very frightened. Then tighten your nose. To fully tighten the muscles of the nose, you need to wrinkle it, as with the most unpleasant smell. At the same time, try to tighten the wings of the nose. The lower third of the face will be effectively brought into tension if you clench your jaws and stretch the corners of your mouth "from ear to ear" in the maximum possible smile.

Now we need connect all three pieces, and it's not easy. Moreover, there are nuances. For example, it is impossible to raise your eyebrows and squint at the same time. Therefore, remember the tension that arises in the forehead when you raise your eyebrows and mentally help yourself when you squint. Or use only frowned eyebrows in the complex. In the end, you should look like this: furrowed eyebrows, squinting eyes reduced to the bridge of the nose, nostrils of a wrinkled nose parted to the sides, clenched jaws, nodules instead of cheeks and a smile from ear to ear.

Necessarily remember the tension, because the main thing is not aesthetics and not even the correct execution of this task, but the intensity of the tension of all the muscles on your face. They, as we had the opportunity to verify, although small, are very sensitive to current emotions. Do not forget to mentally count to ten, but concentrate not on the count, but on the tension.

Let's move on to the next anatomical area - to neck. The difficulty lies in the fact that at first it will be unusual for you to strain the anterior and posterior muscle groups of the neck at the same time. Therefore, lower your chin to your chest, and then throw your head back and remember the feeling of tension that arises in both positions.

Now try to hold the brush on the weight and press on it with your chin. Then you can feel the tension in the front muscles of the neck. Then hold the back of the head in place with the palm of your hand (closer to the crown of the head), and try to overcome the resistance of the hand with your head. Then you can feel the tension in the back muscles of the neck. Remember the work of both muscle groups - you have to strain them using muscle memory.

Move on. The next muscle group, the tension of which we have to master, is the muscles abdominals. To strain them, imagine that they want to hit you in the stomach. At the same time, create tension in the perineum area - bring the buttocks together and pull the perineum into you. Repeat the exercise two or three times, counting to ten to yourself. Now do this exercise in combination with all the previous ones.

Let's get busy feet. Let's start with the feet. To tighten the muscles of the feet, you need to forcefully bend your toes, as you did with your fingers, clenching them into fists. Then you will feel the tension in the arch of the foot. To tighten the muscles of the lower leg, you need to pull the feet towards you (without straightening your toes!). Do it with effort. And then, in the second step, bring your socks together and spread your heels.

Now strain thighs and buttocks. To do this, sit up straight and feel like a tumbler: tighten your buttocks and sway a little from side to side. Now, from this position, stretch your legs forward at a right angle and feel how the thigh muscles tense up. Connect the tension of the muscles of the thighs and buttocks with the tension of the feet and lower legs, as we did just now. Feel the single tension of all the muscles of the lower extremities, from the fingertips to the buttocks.

Now repeat all previously studied stresses. Gather your fingers into a fist, bend your hand towards the inside of your forearm, and your forearms at your elbows. Spread your arms to the sides and tighten the muscles of both shoulders. Now bring the shoulder blades together and, feeling a skin fold between them, lower them down. Lock the head in the process of tilting forward, while creating resistance. Add to this the appropriate facial expressions. Count to ten to yourself and do the exercise with total dedication. Remember: you need to achieve maximum tension in order to then be able to fully relax. Do this with such an effort that will allow you to exhaust all the energy in the muscles.

So are you ready to tense up completely. Recall the feeling of tension that you previously caused in the upper body. Repeat everything from beginning to end quickly, but slowly, trying not to miss anything. Now tighten your whole body and with maximum effort. Count to ten and lean back in your chair, carefully examining your sensations. A significant part of your body will relax, but most likely you will be able to find those areas where at least a minimal degree of tension has been preserved. If there are more than three zones of these sections, you need to repeat the complex again, in the same sequence. Then feel the current state of your muscles, smoothly and slowly, going into all, even minimal, sensations along the way from the feet to the back of the head. If there are three or less zones of tension, albeit minimal, the cycle can not be repeated, but only the muscles that maintain tension can be loaded. Moreover, to create such a load, you can use not only static muscle tension from the complex we studied, but also a dynamic load from any exercises you know (normal exercise, gymnastics, aerobics, shaping, etc.). We identify a specific muscle that is in a state of tension, and then we try to determine what action or movement can involve it in the work (for example, when the back muscles are tense - push-ups from the floor, legs - squats, etc.), first creating additional tension, then overwork and subsequent inevitable relaxation.

The main principle is not so much the correct execution of all elements of the complex (although this is important) and their consistent implementation, but the usefulness of the work done by the muscles and subsequent relaxation. Because this is what we want to achieve, and tension for us is only a means to achieve the desired result. Burn the extra "adrenaline" in the "furnace" of muscle work!

By mastering this technique, you can do a mini-relaxation exercise in cases where it is not possible to perform a full cycle. For example, on a bus or train: close your eyes, slow down your breathing, mentally tell yourself: “Relax!” - and slowly tighten and then relax the muscles of the arms or legs, back or neck. With the right amount of training, this mini-exercise can be almost as effective as the full version.

13. RELAXATION We all need to relax. Some do it well, others find it difficult. This also applies to children. Relaxation helps us do things better and run more smoothly. When we relax, the pain subsides, we