One of the things I briefly referenced in the previous post about cold stimulation of the vagus nerve is the relationship between muscle tension and relaxation paired with parasympathetic activation.
I wanted to share a little bit more information about this specific relaxation technique because it can be employed on its own pretty much anywhere. It's called progressive muscle relaxation and can be performed a variety of ways.
The purpose of this technique is to force physical relaxation of the muscles that we tense from stress and anxiety. I found this article from University of Michigan last year, which I am linking here. There is some additional information if you're interested, but I am linking primarily because they give very specific step-by-step instructions and a list of body parts to tense each time if you want a full body experience... A top to tail progressive muscle relaxation session, if you will.
The shoulder shrug is my personal favorite since that's the thing that's almost always tense as heck.
Stay regulated,
Shauna
Commentaires