The muscles relaxed. Deep relaxation of body muscles

The search for ways to improve sportsmanship led to the task of learning how to rest as quickly and “high-quality” as possible. And not only between workouts and exercises, but also during the process of performing this or that exercise. After all, any motor activity is sequential work different groups muscles. And since muscles have elastic-viscous properties, the muscles that are resting at a certain moment at the same time provide resistance to the working ones. The more completely the inactive muscles are relaxed, the smaller it is.

For efficiency physical exercise Often the relaxation of muscles that seem to be unrelated to the muscles that are working is also affected. Tense muscles of the arms, chest, and back interfere with the rhythmic work of the legs and reduce speed. All the best sprinters in the world are distinguished by the ability to relax while running. Muscle relaxation is also important during the process. labor activity, especially when monotonous movements are repeated many times. Secondary relaxation of a non-working person this moment muscles reduces the overall fatigue of a person employed, for example, in an assembly line production.

Muscle tone and a person’s emotional state are closely interrelated. The more tense the muscles are, the more intense the nerve impulses they send to the brain.

Reducing muscle tone reduces excessive excitement and calms the person. The ability to relax has a beneficial effect on people suffering from neuroses and hypertension. At the same time, excessive tension, for example, in the muscles of the head and neck can cause headaches.

At first glance, voluntary muscle relaxation is not a tricky matter. Since, they say, we are sitting or lying motionless, it means that the body is relaxed. In fact, even during sleep, the muscles are in a state of so-called tonic tension; in them, one by one, although very weakly, part of the muscle fibers. Thanks to this “shift work”, the muscles are constantly ready for action.

In a waking person, tonic muscle tension has another important function: it supports the body in one position or another, for example, it allows one to maintain an upright position.

The amount of tone reflexively depends on the degree of muscle tension. And all the muscles are attached to the bones in a somewhat stretched, tense state; this prevents them from completely relaxing. That is why, when relaxing certain muscles, you need to take a position in which these muscles could shorten.

By relaxing the biceps, we simultaneously stretch the triceps, and vice versa. The relationships of other skeletal muscles- they all have antagonists. This means that it is impossible to shorten all muscles at the same time. Therefore, to relax the muscles, it is advisable to take a position in which the muscles of the torso and limbs are in more or less the same degree of tension.

This is the position the body takes when it is in water. But, the body relaxes only when the water does not cause a feeling of chills. Low water and air temperatures increase muscle tone. And all kinds of thermal water procedure(steam bath, warm bath or shower) help relax. This is also facilitated by light stroking, which not only increases the temperature of the massaged area of ​​the body, but also has a calming effect on the nervous system.

Some practical recommendations, in order to learn how to relax your muscles: you need to sit comfortably in a chair, lean on its back, put your hands on the armrests, spread your legs slightly and bend your knees. But the pose is not yet a guarantee of deep relaxation: it only creates favorable conditions for this. It is necessary to develop the skill of relieving excessive muscle tension through active volitional efforts.

A set of relaxation exercises

If you do these exercises systematically, you will notice how the feeling of maximum muscle tension gradually turns into a feeling of deep relaxation and peace.

When performing a set of exercises, you should try, straining your muscles, take a shallow breath and hold your breath. Relaxation is accompanied by a calm exhalation.

Each exercise is divided into two parts. The first is accentuated tension of a muscle or muscle group for 3-4 seconds. The second is as deep relaxation as possible. A kind of self-order enhances the effectiveness of the exercise. For example, when tensing the muscles of your arms, you need to focus on this feeling and say to yourself: “The muscles of your arms are completely relaxed.”

FOR HANDS

1. Stand up straight, raise your arms forward, tensing the muscles of the hand, forearm, and shoulder. Clench your fingers into a fist. When relaxing your hand, freely falling down, make pendulum-like movements.

2. An exercise similar to the previous one, only you need to raise your arms up, not standing straight, but leaning forward.

3. With your fingers clasped behind your back, bend forward. Relaxing your fingers, allow your hands to slide off your back. (You don’t need to strain your arm muscles in this exercise.)

Perform each exercise 4 times.

FOR LEGS

1. Stand with your left foot on a slight elevation, holding onto the support with your left hand for stability. Raise straight right leg How

2. Lie on your back, bend your legs, spread your knees freely. Straining the muscles of the feet of the legs and thighs, bring the knees together with force, and press the feet to the support. Relaxing your legs, return them to initial position. Repeat 2 times.

3. Lie on your right side, bend your legs at the knees and hip joints. Left leg straighten up. Relaxing, take the starting position. Repeat 2-3 times. The same amount with the right foot.

FOR THE TORSO

1. Lie on your stomach. Straining, bend over, trying to raise your knees, shoulders and head. Relaxing, take the starting position. Repeat 3-4 times. (This exercise is not recommended for older people!)

2. Lie on your back. While straining, bend your torso slightly, raising your shoulders and legs. (If it is difficult to maintain balance in this position, you can help yourself a little with your hands.) Relaxing, take the starting position. Repeat 3-4 times.

FOR HEAD AND FACE

1. Tightening your forehead muscles, raise your eyebrows and open your eyes wide. Relax your muscles and lower your eyelids freely. 2. Close your eyes tightly. Relax your eyelids, keeping them closed. 3. Squeeze your jaws and lips tightly. Relaxing them, freely lower the lower jaw. 4. Straining your tongue, press its tip to the palate. Relax your tongue and jaw. Repeat each exercise 4-6 times.

For the first 3-4 months, perform the entire complex, preferably in the evening, before bed. Then, when I learn to clearly feel the state of relaxation in the muscles, I can regularly do only a few exercises of my choice.

Subsequently, it is recommended to complicate the exercises using the so-called differentiated relaxation: after completely relaxing, make movements with one muscle. Reclining freely in a chair, for example, bend and unbend a hand clenched into a fist, without straining other muscles.

Gradually, you can learn to relax the muscles that are “idle” in this situation. When this becomes a habit, the muscles will acquire a valuable quality that will increase performance and create an additional reserve of health.

The facial muscles are very mobile. During every day, a person experiences many emotions: joy, anger, surprise, disappointment, and all of them are reflected on the face. Full time job muscles leads to the appearance of facial wrinkles. Even in ancient times, people were able to determine a person’s character by their face. The folds on the forehead indicated that the person often frowns, which means that he is dissatisfied with something. The downturned corners of the lips also indicated a frequent pessimistic mood. But small wrinkles around the eyes, on the contrary, indicated a cheerful disposition. This is a clear example of how closely a person’s emotional state is connected to the physical body. Therefore, relaxation of the facial muscles is very important for their normal functioning.

facial muscles

Since the facial muscles work all day, they need to relax in the evening. However, not every person knows how to relax them. Gradually, the muscles get used to the tension and can no longer relax. They are in this state even when the person is calm and does not experience any emotions. Prolonged tension of the facial muscles causes a feeling of spasm, tightness of the skin in the forehead, and tightness of the face. As a result, blood circulation deteriorates, facial skin becomes flabby, dull, takes on an unhealthy color, and becomes covered with wrinkles.

Wrinkles caused by fatigue of the facial muscles are localized in the corners of the eyes and on the forehead. Also, a person’s nasolabial folds increase, their cheeks sag and the entire relief of their face changes. Usually, having seen such unpleasant changes on their faces, women, and even some men, try to save the situation with the help of cosmetics. But, unfortunately, no cosmetics can cope with muscle fatigue. Only special exercises to relax muscles and massage can help here.

The main reasons causing tension in the facial muscles are:

• habit of constantly frowning;
• habit of chewing food on one side;
• malocclusion;
• habit of sleeping on one side all the time.

A set of exercises to relax facial muscles

Exist simple exercises, aimed at working the muscles of the cheeks, cheekbones, and forehead. Doing them daily will help relieve tension, reduce wrinkles, increase blood circulation, improve complexion and make the skin more elastic. Relaxation exercises are suitable for both women and men. Gymnastics should be done in a calm, relaxed state, breathing should be slow and deep. After each exercise, a feeling of relaxation should appear in the muscle being worked. Before starting gymnastics, you need to take the most comfortable position.

Cheek exercises

1. Close your eyes, take a deep breath and try to raise your eyebrows as high as possible. Stay in this position for a few seconds, then exhale and lower your eyebrows. Rest a little and repeat the exercise.
2. Take a deep breath and try to tense the wings of your nose as much as possible (as if flaring your nostrils), then exhale and relax. Do this several times.
3. Open your mouth slightly and lift one corner of it up to create a “crooked” smile. Stay in this position for a few seconds, then relax your muscles. Repeat the same with the other corner of your mouth.
4. Blink alternately with one eye and then with the other, feeling the muscles of your cheeks stretch upward.
5. Wrinkle your face as much as possible, hold this position for a couple of seconds, then relax.
6. Grab your upper lip with your fingers and smoothly pull it down. Without releasing your lips, try to smile and feel how your cheeks tense.

Eye exercises

1. Taking a deep breath, close your eyes. Gradually tighten eye muscles, and then close your eyes. Hold the muscles tense for a few seconds, then exhale and relax. Repeat.
2. Make circular movements with your eyes, first clockwise, and then in the other direction (3-5 movements each). The head remains motionless.
3. Position your head straight, gaze directed forward. Without changing the position of your head, look up, pause for a second, then look down. Repeat.
4. The head is positioned straight, gaze ahead. Without turning your head, direct your gaze first in one direction, then in the other. Repeat the exercise several times.
5. Close your eyes tightly, stay in this position for 5 seconds, and then relax. Do the exercise 10 times.

Exercises for the mouth muscles

1. Bring your lips together and make an air kiss. Repeat the movement several times.
2. Stretching and rounding your lips as much as possible, use your voice to emit the sounds “a-a-a”, “o-o-o”, “oo-oo-u”, “uh-uh”, “i-i-i”, “ s-s-s."
3. Open your mouth slightly and try to turn your lips inward. Hold the tension for a couple of seconds, then relax the muscles. Repeat several times.
4. With your lips closed, try to smile first with one side of your mouth, then with the other. Then smile on both sides at the same time. Do this several times.
5. Open your mouth slightly and pull one corner of it to the side as much as possible, then repeat the same movement with the other corner.
6. Place the index fingers of both hands on the corners of your mouth and smile, while simultaneously creating resistance with your fingers. Relax. Repeat the exercise 20 times.

Exercises for the muscles of the chin and neck

1. Throw your head back and open your mouth. Without changing the position of your head, open and close your mouth.
2. Tuck your upper and lower lips inward. Tightening the muscles of the chin and neck, open and close your mouth.
3. Tighten your neck muscles and slowly pull your neck up, then return to the starting position. Repeat.
4. Tighten your neck muscles. Slowly turn your head from side to side, making sure that your neck remains tense.
5. Place your palm on your forehead and try to tilt your head, resisting with your hand. Repeat the same with the back of your head, only now you need to tilt your head back, resisting its movement with your palm.

Massage to relax facial muscles

Facial massage is great way relieve tension and relax the facial muscles. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on the skin. The massage can be done in the evening before bed, and it is good for women to do it in the morning, before applying makeup. Before starting a massage, you must cleanse your skin (wash, remove makeup) and apply a moisturizing or nourishing cream.

It is best to start the massage from the forehead area, pressing on the point between the eyebrows and gently moving the fingertips from the bridge of the nose up the forehead. Massaging the scalp helps relieve tension in the forehead area. To do this, press your fingertips to your head and in a circular motion knead the skin, starting from the forehead and gradually moving to the back of the head, not forgetting about the sides.

Now you can move on to the eyebrows. Eyebrows should be massaged with gentle movements from the bridge of the nose to the temples. You can grab the skin of your eyebrows with your fingers and upper eyelid and gently pinch it.

The skin around the eyes is very delicate. Therefore, it should be massaged with special care. First you need to pay attention to the corners of the eyes, then gently knead the area under the lower eyelid.

The cheekbone area should be massaged towards the temples. There is no need to press hard on the skin, just tapping movements with your fingertips is enough. Having found a tense area, you need to give it Special attention and pressing gently, massage in a circular motion. The temporal muscles also need to be massaged.

Massage of the oral muscles is carried out by pressing on a point above the upper lip, moving towards the corners of the mouth. Then you need to massage the point located in the center under the lower lip. To eliminate sagging mental muscles, you need to pat the bottom of your chin with the back of your hand.

It is necessary to walk with patting movements over the entire surface of the face until a feeling of warmth and slight tingling appears. This will enhance relaxation of the facial muscles.

When finishing the massage, you need to gently feel the entire face again to find the points where there is still tension. If there are any, you need to massage them a little more. After this, you should cover your face with your palms and sit like that for a minute. The massage is over.

Regular exercises and massage will help not only relieve muscle tension, but also preserve the youth and beauty of your face for a long time.

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I'll tell you about one interesting way to relax your hands.
In order to better feel relaxation, you must first tense your arms.
After all, it is known that after tension relaxation always comes, Yin is always replaced by Yang.
Now you will take nine slow inhalations and nine equally slow exhalations, squeezing your fingers with each exhalation. And with each subsequent exhalation you will clench your fists a little more tightly.

Raise your arms in front of you.
Inhale, and as you exhale, clench your fingers into fists. Once.

Take a breath. Keep your fists clenched.
Exhale and clench your fists even harder. Two.

Take a breath. Clench your fists even harder each time.
Exhale while clenching your fists. Three.

Take a breath. Maintain grip strength.
As you exhale, continue to clench your fingers. Four.

Inhale. Keep tension in your hands.
Exhale, squeeze your fingers even harder. Five.

Inhale. Your arms are already very tense.
Exhale, squeeze your fingers even harder. Six.

Inhale. His knuckles turned white from tension.
Exhale, squeeze your fingers even harder. Seven.

Inhale. Iron fists.
Exhale, squeeze your fingers even harder. Eight.

Inhale. The fists are already clenched very tightly.
Exhale, squeeze your fingers even harder. Nine.

Unclench your fists, relax your arms.

Now place your hands on your knees.
Let your hands just rest, just lay relaxed and rest on your lap.
Your hands are tired, and now it’s so nice to feel them relax.
Observe the sensations in your hands as they continue to relax.

Now that your hands are resting comfortably on your lap, you may feel certain sensations in your hands.
Maybe you will feel how your muscles, relaxing after hard work, become a little softer and heavier than before.
And at the same time, you can feel the fabric of the clothing on which they lie with your palms and fingers.
And you can feel the warmth where your arms and legs touch.
And you can feel how the muscles of your arms continue to relax, and how a pleasant warmth begins to spread through your hands.
And this heat can go from your palms, rising up to your elbows, and then, rising higher, to your shoulders.
Or the heat may originate in your shoulders, moving down to your palms.
And it doesn’t matter at all exactly how the heat spreads through your hands, because when your hands relax, the heat can arise and spread in different ways.

And you might think about whether this heat is going from your palms through the fabric of your clothing to your feet?
Or does the heat rise from your feet through your clothes to your palms?

And no matter how this happens, you can realize how pleasant it is to feel warmth, muscle relaxation, calmness when your hands lie comfortably and motionlessly on your knees.
And you can continue to observe the pleasant sensations in your hands, being in a state of relaxation and at the same time focused on your sensations.
And at the same time, feel how with each inhalation and exhalation the muscles of your arms become more relaxed, warmer and heavier.

You can continue to observe the sensations of warmth and relaxation as you continue reading these lines.
And if you listen more carefully to your feelings, you may discover some new sensations that you did not notice or did not pay attention to before.

Some may feel a hum or vibration in their hands.
Some people feel as if their hands are numb.
And someone is surprised to discover that their hands suddenly begin to acquire lightness and become almost weightless, like light feathers.
And some people stop feeling their hands altogether.

And no matter how you feel, I know that you are doing something right and that you can learn more than you think.
And now that your hands are well-rested, they are stronger and ready to work.

If you have any questions, write in the comments or by email
e-mail: [email protected]
website: http://zhelonkinav.narod.ru

One of the most common methods of psychotherapy today is muscle relaxation.

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 differentiate between tension and relaxation, and also 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 nervous system caused by constant stress. You can recover from insomnia, hypertension, headaches, persistent feelings of anxiety and prevent the development of a number of other diseases.

Effective Muscle Relaxation: Progressive Neuromuscular Relaxation Method

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

The place for exercise should be comfortable, quiet and dark, which will allow you to completely relax and concentrate your attention on the processes occurring in the body. Nothing should hinder a person's movements.

It is best to wear loose clothing and perform exercises without shoes or accessories, such as glasses. The patient's body must have stable support (this does not apply to the neck and head area) so that he cannot fall asleep during the session.

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

• In the first case, they occur in the joints and ligaments. painful sensations, accompanied by unpleasant spontaneous muscle tremors. Excessive stress leads to this state.
• In the second case, only a slightly unpleasant feeling of compression 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 exhaling at the moment of relaxation.

First of all, you should pay attention to the muscles of the lower parts of the body, and lastly to the facial area. Repeated tension of the muscles of the organs is unacceptable.

Even before the start of the relaxation session, you should give yourself a clear goal of consistently relaxing every muscle in your body. This will allow you to achieve the most effective result.

How to achieve complete body relaxation

Lean back a little and take a seat comfortable position. Get rid of clothing, shoes and accessories that restrict movement. Close your eyes. Concentrate on your breathing, it should be correct and calm. Feel how your lungs fill with air, pausing for 30 seconds when inhaling.

Let's consider relaxing the body, or rather each part of it separately.

• Rib cage

Take a deep breath, hold your breath, relax and exhale. Try to empty your lungs completely and restore your normal breathing pattern. As you inhale, some tension should arise in the chest area, and as you exhale, complete muscle relaxation should occur. Repeat the exercise several times in a row, resting for 5-10 seconds.

• Feet and legs

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. You should lower yourself onto your heels smoothly, without making sudden movements. If in the posterior region calf muscles If there is a slight tension, then the exercise is performed correctly. At the moment of relaxation, a slight tingling sensation and a rush of warmth may appear.

To strengthen the opposite muscle group, stand on your heels while raising your toes as high as possible. A few seconds of tension and relaxation again. After these steps in lower parts The legs should feel heavy. After each exercise you should take a break of 20 seconds.

• Hips and abdomen

Straighten your legs, lift them and hold in this position. The calves should be relaxed. After some time, gently lower your feet to the floor. At the same time, the thigh muscles should feel some tension.

• Hands

Clench both hands into fists, hold them in this state and relax. This exercise is good 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 them. A feeling of warmth or slight tingling should appear in the area of ​​the hands and forearms. Between exercises you should pause for 20 seconds.

• Face

Smile as broadly as possible, hold it there and relax. Do the same with pursed lips. Pay attention to your eyes. Close your eyes tightly, raise your eyebrows, then relax. Pause between exercises 15 seconds.

Thus, it is achieved complete body relaxation .

When muscle relaxation has been achieved, you can move to the wakefulness stage. Count from 1 to 10, focusing on yourself and the world around you. Open your eyes and feel cheerful, energized and fresh.

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It's worth not getting enough sleep - that's all. People seem incredibly nasty, jobs aren't working, and the future looks bleak. Stress, physical inactivity, and hours spent behind the wheel or at the computer make the back muscles stiff and prevent you from truly relaxing before bed. That's why we first toss and turn in bed for a long time, and then sleep in a shallow and restless sleep.

website I have collected several simple and effective techniques for relaxing your back, which will help you quickly go to bed and have a good night's sleep. They can be done right on the bed and are suitable for people of all fitness levels.

1. Wind Release Pose

Pineanasana or Wind Release Pose relieves tension from the entire spine, especially the lower back and hips in just a minute. In addition, this yoga pose regulates bowel function (as you can guess from the name), and therefore it is useful to do it in the morning.

How to do:

• Take a position lying on your back and relax.
• Bend your knees.
• As you inhale, extend your arms forward and clasp your knees.
• As you exhale, hug your knees, pressing them towards your stomach.
• Breathe deeply, concentrating on the work of the diaphragm. As you inhale, the legs move away from the body, and as you exhale, they move closer to it. Stay in this position for 8–10 breaths - approximately 1 minute.

2. Feet on the wall

This pose gives rest to the legs and back, opens chest and allows you to saturate your lungs with oxygen before bed.

How to do:

• Place a folded pillow against the wall or head of the bed.
• Lie on it, press your buttocks against the wall or head of the bed, and lift your legs up onto the wall.
• Stretch your arms to the sides and try to open your chest. Relax and breathe calmly. Hold your pose 1–2 minutes, then lower your legs.

3. Wave exercises for the deep muscles of the spine

Wave gymnastics allows you to achieve even greater relaxation of the back - it “gets” to the deep muscles of the spine located under surface layers. The exercise consists of two steps:

Step #1:

• Lie on your back and place small towel rolls under your lower back and neck.
• Swing your feet from side to side - as relaxed as possible, without straining. And at the same time shake your head from side to side without straining your neck and back. Movements can be directed in one direction or in the opposite direction - whichever is more convenient for you.
• Try to relax completely and feel a wave of vibrations along your entire spine. Do the exercise for 1 minutes.

Step #2:

• Lie on your stomach, place a pillow or towel under your forehead, stretch your arms along your body, and rest your toes on the bed.
• Swing your feet from side to side and try to feel how the wave is transmitted to your entire relaxed body. Make the moves 1 minute.

4. Shavasana

If you do this exercise correctly before bed, then immersing yourself in the kingdom of Morpheus will not be difficult.

How to do:

• Lie on your back with your legs slightly spread and your hands palms up. Place a folded towel or the edge of a pillow under your head and neck.
• Relax your body gradually from bottom to top, starting with your toes and ending with the top of your head. Do 20 breathing cycles, gradually lengthening your inhalations and exhalations, and then stop controlling your breathing - breathe as you want. Watch your thoughts float by, but don't cling to them.
• Gradually you will feel how the outside world seems to float away from you, and your whole body is as relaxed as possible. It's time to cover yourself with a blanket and go to bed.