Progressive Muscle Relaxation Research Paper

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relaxation have less health issues or maintain control over health issues. Seaward (n.d.) mentions that progressive muscle relaxation may be beneficial to individuals who desire to quit smoking.

How is progressive muscle relaxation performed? When I practiced progressive muscle relaxation as a student in a Relaxation for Health course during the spring 2016 semester, attention was given before the exercise to notice tense muscle groups. According to Seaward (n.d.), the best practice of progressive muscle relaxation is to contract each muscle group at one hundred percent for ten seconds and release; then, contract muscles at fifty percent for ten seconds and release; finally, contract muscles at ten percent for ten seconds and release. The muscle groups involved in the progressive muscle relaxation in-class exercise were the shoulders, left and right arms, chest and abdomen, buttocks, left and right legs and face muscles. After the exercise, attention was given to notice the feel of retraction or relaxation.

Seaward (n.d.) states that as the body’s muscles relax, the mind relaxes. Also, The Autism Program (n.d.) gives deep breathing and visualization as techniques utilized with progressive muscle relaxation. As a counseling patient, I have been taught progressive muscle relaxation with scripts that involve visualization of a favorite, calming location while performing the contraction-retraction muscle exercises that integrates deep breathing upon release of muscle contractions. The difference of how contraction feels versus how retraction feels voluntarily provides me with mindfulness or awareness of tension or lack of tension in area muscle groups. The integration of visualization and deep breathing aids in control of relaxing muscles and the mind, thereby increasing mindfulness and awareness.

For autistic individuals like myself, progressive muscle relaxation results in heightened awareness to improve concentration that aids in improved class performance. These progressive muscle relaxation exercises reduce anxiety to allow focus on exams and increase social interactions; they reduce pain to allow sleep quality improvement. In addition, the decrease in muscle tension aids in reducing nausea from gastrointestinal issues, such as acid-reflux. These results of improved concentration with reduced anxiety, pain and tension are why individuals choose progressive muscle relaxation as a technique to combat distress.

References

The Autism Program Service Center at the Hope Institute for Children and Families. (n.d.).

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Boron-Krupinska, K. & Kulmatycki, L. (October 2014). Effective of Progressive Muscle

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Nair, P. P. & Meera, K. P. (August 2014). Effectiveness of Progressive Muscle Relaxation in

Reducing Academic Stress of Secondary Schools Students of Kerala. International Organization of Scientific Research Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 19(8), 29-32. Retrieved from http://www.iosrjournals.org/iosr-jhss/papers/Vol19-issue8

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Seaward, B. L. (n.d.). Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being

[PowerPoint slides]. Retrieved from http://cms.cerritos.edu/uploads/dsmith /Chapter24.ppt