How To Use Your Body to Relax your Mind

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Science, Social Sciences

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 28 September 2023

⏱️ 21 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Want to destress your mind? Start with your body. Progressive Muscle Relaxation is a practice where you methodically tense and release your muscles to help unwind. Studies show it can reduce anxiety, help you get better sleep and lower depression levels.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/y6stdy3b

Episode summary:

As a war correspondent and an Afghani refugee, Nelufar Hedayat is acutely aware of how stress feels in her body. For our show, Nelufar tried Progressive Muscle Relaxation: But what the practice’s title doesn’t mention is that you methodically tense your muscles, before releasing them.. At first, it triggered feelings of distress for her. But after recently being diagnosed with complex post-traumatic stress disorder, Nelufar was able to reframe her relationship to the exercise. By separating the sensation of tensing from stress, she completed the practice feeling empowered and euphoric. Later, we hear from psychologist Loren Toussaint about the importance of intentionally engaging our body’s relaxation response. We also learn how Progressive Muscle Relaxation compares to other well-known relaxation techniques, like deep breathing and visualization.

Practice:

Listen to next week’s Happiness Break on October 5th for a short guided version of this practice.

Try following these steps for Progressive Muscle Relaxation from Kaiser Permanente: https://tinyurl.com/4k668ehv

Today’s guests:

Nelufar Hedayat is an award-winning journalist and documentary filmmaker who has reported on numerous conflict zones. Her new podcast Ritually explores the role of wellness and spiritual practices in contemporary society.

Listen to Ritually: https://tinyurl.com/mtzvf2kp

Follow Nelufar on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/42ytnytw

Follow Nelufar on Instagram: https://tinyurl.com/y6abuvtp

Follow Nelufar on Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/mr2weemp

Loren Toussaint is a professor of psychology at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

Learn more about Loren and his work: https://tinyurl.com/4ea2jx9x

Follow Loren on Twitter: https://tinyurl.com/mry2yb4s

Resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Four Ways to Calm Your Mind in Stressful Times: https://tinyurl.com/6apdf52p

How Resting More Can Boost Your Productivity: https://tinyurl.com/23h6rnvw

How a Body Scan Can Help With Strong Emotions: https://tinyurl.com/59tyjbhr

How Tuning In to Your Body Can Make You More Resilient: https://tinyurl.com/y2jhfmpe

Five Ways Mindfulness Meditation Is Good for Your Health: https://tinyurl.com/3f79nsav

More Resources for A Good Night’s Sleep

University of Toledo- Progressive Muscle Relaxation: https://tinyurl.com/2kadu7va

Mayo Clinic - Relaxation techniques: Try these steps to reduce stress: https://tinyurl.com/2tfrnnew

BBC - Can’t stop your brain racing at 3am? Try these suggestions from a GP: https://tinyurl.com/yvz45x5w

PTSD UK - How Progressive Muscle Relaxation can help people with PTSD: https://tinyurl.com/4b89auzw

Tell us about your experience with the progressive muscle relaxation practice! Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness!

Rate us on Spotify and share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/ckd6yb46

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I've lived my life negotiating how big I am, how small I am, how much skin is visible
0:10.6	to other people, how much skin I keep to myself.
0:13.4	Do I want to be seen, how do I want to be seen?
0:16.7	I'm a documentary filmmaker in front of the camera and very often that camera can bore
0:23.9	a hole through me and eviscerate my personhood sitting in front of a person that I'm interviewing
0:30.2	whether it's in a war zone or in my backyard, in my home zone.
0:35.7	It's that sense of I have to be almost invisible in order for the person to feel that they can
0:41.1	come out and say their peace.
0:44.2	So often in my life I just feel like I'm bleeding into my surroundings, like I don't know,
0:49.5	like I'm not in sharp focus.
0:51.8	I am something to look at and also not there.
0:59.9	Welcome to the Science of Happiness.
1:05.0	I'm Emiliana Simon Thomas, the Science Director at the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley,
1:11.0	stepping in this week for Dacker Keltner.
1:13.8	And this week we're getting out of our heads and into our bodies.
1:17.9	Our bodies carry so much, the happy moments, but also the stressors and the traumatic experiences.
1:25.0	Millafarha diet is a busy journalist from the UK who spent years reporting in war zones.
1:31.9	For our show today she tried a practice that can help people feel more calm.
1:36.6	It's called Progressive Muscle Relaxation or PMR.
1:40.8	To do it you try to guide your attention to focus on different parts of your body from
1:45.6	toe to head, tensing muscles up and then slowly releasing them.
1:52.0	Researchers and scientists have been exploring the effectiveness of PMR since the early 20th
	...

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