I ran across Progressive Muscular Relaxation, a technique for reducing muscle tension, a big side effect of stress. I’ve used it a bit — it helps with my hands, where I get a lot of tension, just from all the work I do with them. It’s not such a great option for the other place that I tense up (my shoulders and upper back), but it can help a little.
How does PMR work?
It’s pretty simple, actually: all you have to do is tense up a group of muscles as much as you can. Your muscles should be as tightly contracted as possible. Hold them that way for a few seconds, and then allow your muscles to relax normally. If you can, make the effort to relax your muscles even further — from what I’ve read, plenty of people can consciously relax their muscles to an extensive point, but I can only relax so far before I run the risk of flat out falling asleep.
The general idea behind PMR is that, if you start with tense muscles, it can be hard to relax them on your own. By tensing them up even more, you can actually relax your muscles more. It’s like taking a rubber band and stretching it. When you let go of the rubber band, it actually contracts (momentarily) to an even smaller size than it started out at.
This is a good exercise that you can do at your desk for quick stress relief, especially if you can only take a short break.
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