Releasing the tension you didn’t know you held

Stress lives in the body as much as the mind — clenched jaw, tight shoulders, a knotted stomach. Progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) systematically tenses and releases muscle groups, discharging physical tension and signaling calm to the brain.

How to do it

• Work through muscle groups one at a time, head to toe or toe to head.
• Tense each group firmly for about 5 seconds, then release completely.
• Notice the contrast between tension and release — that’s the point.
• Breathe slowly throughout; let the release deepen with each exhale.

The whole sequence takes well under ten minutes, and the tense-release contrast teaches your body what “relaxed” actually feels like — something chronically stressed people often forget. PMR is especially helpful before sleep or after a tense day. With practice, you’ll start noticing and releasing tension in real time, before it builds.

📖 Go deeper: How progressive muscle relaxation relieves tension in under 10 minutes