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StillnessCalming technique

Progressive muscle relaxation works through the body one muscle group at a time: you tense the muscles for a few seconds, then release them and notice the change. Repeating this in order, from the feet up to the face or the other way round, teaches you to recognise tension and let it go.

Relaxation technique

Health

The story behind the card

The technique was developed by the American physician Edmund Jacobson, who first presented it at Harvard University in 1908 and described it in detail in his 1929 book Progressive Relaxation. His original method needed weekly lessons and daily practice. The South African psychiatrist Joseph Wolpe later shortened it to about 20 minutes and used it to help patients face their fears step by step, and many shorter versions followed. The idea behind it is that stress and anxiety tighten the muscles, often without our noticing, and learning the feel of real release helps reverse that. It has been used for anxiety, stress, insomnia, low mood and pain, needs no equipment and can be done lying down or sitting in a chair.

Türkçe oku
Aşamalı kas gevşetmede kas gruplarını tek tek ele alırsınız: Önce kasları birkaç saniye gerer, sonra bırakır ve aradaki farkı hissedersiniz. Bunu ayaklardan yüze ya da yüzden ayaklara doğru sırayla yapmak, gerginliği tanımayı ve bırakmayı öğretir.

Bu tekniği Amerikalı hekim Edmund Jacobson geliştirdi. Jacobson yöntemini ilk kez 1908'de Harvard Üniversitesi'nde tanıttı; 1929'da yayımlanan Progressive Relaxation (Aşamalı Gevşeme) adlı kitabında da ayrıntılarıyla anlattı. İlk yöntem haftalık dersler ve her gün alıştırma gerektiriyordu. Güney Afrikalı psikiyatrist Joseph Wolpe daha sonra yöntemi 20 dakikalık bir alıştırmaya indirdi ve hastalarının korkularıyla adım adım yüzleşmesine yardım etmek için kullandı; ardından birçok kısa sürüm geliştirildi. Tekniğin dayandığı düşünce şu: Stres ve kaygı kasları çoğu zaman biz farkına varmadan gerer; gerçek gevşemenin nasıl hissettirdiğini öğrenmek bu durumu tersine çevirmeye yardım eder. Kaygı, stres, uykusuzluk, depresif ruh hâli ve ağrı için kullanılır. Hiçbir araç gerektirmez; yatarak ya da sandalyede oturarak yapılabilir.

Sources and further reading

Background reading: Progressive muscle relaxation
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