Relaxation: Definition, Techniques, & Videos

Within the autonomic nervous system are the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems. The sympathetic system is your “fight or flight” system. It’s what’s active when you’re excited, scared, or stressed out. The parasympathetic nervous system is what’s sometimes called your “rest and digest” system. It’s the one that’s activated when you are feeling calm and relaxed. 

​Activation of the sympathetic nervous system is not inherently a bad thing. It’s active when we’re falling in love, playing our favorite sport, or having an exciting conversation. In fact, research suggests that “good stress” (also called eustress)—that is, sympathetic activation in response to a favorable experience—is actually good for you. Chronic activation of this system, however, is where we start to get into trouble. When the sympathetic nervous system is active, our bodies release stress hormones that increase our heart rate and blood pressure and generally prepare our bodies to respond to a threat. When these hormones accumulate, they can cause damage to our bodies at a cellular level (McEwen, 2008). 

Parasympathetic activation performs the opposite function. It slows our heart rate, lowers our blood pressure, reduces muscle tone, slows our breathing, and prepares our bodies for rest and rejuvenation. In other words, the parasympathetic nervous system helps us relax. Luckily, there are a number of ways we can activate our parasympathetic nervous systems and help our bodies recover from the damages of our stressful lives.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a technique that helps us learn what it feels like when our muscles are tense versus when they are relaxed so that we can notice the tension when we are stressed out and willfully release it (Cawthorn & Mackereth, 2010). 

In general, the steps to PMR are the following:

1. Minimize distractions and interruptions (i.e. turn off your cell phone and find a quiet place).
2. Lie down and make yourself as comfortable as possible.
3. Begin with 1 muscle group, such as your feet.  Inhale as you tighten the muscles in your feet and hold for 6-10 seconds then relax and exhale for 6-10 seconds. Be sure not to squeeze so hard that you cause cramping or discomfort.
4. Repeat this step once more before moving on to another muscle group (such as the calves).
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as you work your way up your body through different muscle groups (feet, calves, thighs, abdomen, hands, arms, back, then face).

​If you’d like to be guided through a PMR exercise, you can check out this video:

Meditation has been used as a relaxation tool for centuries and the current body of research supporting the positive benefits of meditation is immense. Some of the observed effects of meditation include slower heart rate, muscle relaxation, increased cerebral blood flow, increased production of melatonin, and greater activation of brain regions associated with non-verbal, intuitive, and spatial processing (Perez-De-Albeniz & Holmes, 2000). There are many kinds of meditation including mindfulness meditation​, loving-kindness meditation, movement meditation, breath awareness, and body scan. Different people will benefit differently from each kind of meditation, so it might be helpful to try out more than one kind to see what works best for you.

Meditation and Trauma
The benefits of meditation are well-documented and difficult to dispute, but recent research suggests that meditation, especially mindfulness meditation, might not be for everyone. For people with post-traumatic stress disorder, diving right into meditation could do more harm than good. The hypothesis is that meditating could overwhelm some trauma survivors by creating “too strong a window of awareness” before they’re ready (Burrows, 2016). This isn’t to say that if you have trauma you shouldn’t meditate, only that it is best to approach meditation carefully, be aware of how your body is responding, and take a break as soon as you need to.

Massage is often viewed as a particularly indulgent luxury, but studies show it’s a highly effective therapeutic technique. For example, massage has been associated with reductions in pain and anxiety, and improvements in mood, relaxation, and sleep in patient populations (Dreyer et al., 2015; Jane et al., 2011).

As someone who chronically carries tension in their neck and shoulders, I’ve noticed that one of my major barriers to relaxation is the pain caused by this muscle tension. Relaxing makes the pain more noticeable, so I’m compelled to stay busy to distract myself from it. Massages provide the relief I need to allow myself to genuinely let go of distractions and relax. 
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There are many forms of massage therapy, and each form is suited for different needs. For example, if your goal is simply relaxation, a Swedish massage might be best for you. Whereas if you are in need of pain relief, a deep-tissue massage could be the way to go. Before scheduling a massage session, it might be helpful to check out what your options are and discuss what type of massage will best meet your needs with your massage therapist. 

• “The point of gathering stillness is not to enrich the sanctuary or the mountain top, but to bring that calm into the motion, the commotion, of the world” – Pico Iyre
• “It takes courage to say yes to rest and play in a culture where exhaustion is seen as a status symbol.” – Brene Brown
• “To have faith is to trust yourself to the water. When you swim you don’t grab hold of the water because if you do you will sink and drown. Instead you relax, and float.” – Alan Watts
• “If you surrendered to the air, you could ride it” – Toni Morrison

​Want to learn more? Check out these articles:​​​

• Bakkali, F., Averbeck, S., Averbeck, D., & Idaomar, M. (2008). Biological effects of essential oils – A review. Food and Chemical Toxicology, 46(2), 446–475. 
• Burrows, L. (2016). Safeguarding Mindfulness Meditation for Vulnerable College Students. Mindfulness, 7(1), 284–285. 
• Cawthorn, A., & Mackereth, P. A. (Eds.). (2010). Integrative hypnotherapy: complementary approaches in clinical care. Elsevier Health Sciences.
• De Benedittis, G. (2015). Neural mechanisms of hypnosis and meditation. Journal of Physiology Paris, 109(4–6), 152–164. 
• de Witte, M., Pinho, A. da S., Stams, G. J., Moonen, X., Bos, A. E. R., & van Hooren, S. (2022). Music therapy for stress reduction: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Health Psychology Review, 16(1), 134–159. 
• Dreyer, N. E., Cutshall, S. M., Huebner, M., Foss, D. M., Lovely, J. K., Bauer, B. A., & Cima, R. R. (2015). Effect of massage therapy on pain, anxiety, relaxation, and tension after colorectal surgery: A randomized study. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 21(3), 154–159. 
• Herz, R. S. (2009). Aromatherapy facts and fictions: A scientific analysis of olfactory effects on mood, physiology and behavior. International Journal of Neuroscience, 119(2), 263–290. 
• Jain, S., Jain, M., & Sharma, C. S. (2010). Effect of yoga and relaxation techniques on cardiovascular system. Indian Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology, 54(2), 183–185.
• Jane, S. W., Chen, S. L., Wilkie, D. J., Lin, Y. C., Foreman, S. W., Beaton, R. D., Fan, J. Y., Lu, M. Y., Wang, Y. Y., Lin, Y. H., & Liao, M. N. (2011). Effects of massage on pain, mood status, relaxation, and sleep in Taiwanese patients with metastatic bone pain: A randomized clinical trial. Pain, 152(10), 2432–2442. 
• Kim, S., Gäbel, C., Aguilar-Raab, C., Hillecke, T. K., & Warth, M. (2018). Affective and autonomic response to dynamic rhythmic entrainment: Mechanisms of a specific music therapy factor. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 60, 48–54. 
• Liu, S. H., Lin, T. H., & Chang, K. M. (2013). The physical effects of aromatherapy in alleviating work-related stress on elementary school teachers in Taiwan. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2013. 
• McEwen, B. S. (2008). Central effects of stress hormones in health and disease: Understanding the protective and damaging effects of stress and stress mediators. European Journal of Pharmacology, 583(2–3), 174–185. 
• Perez-De-Albeniz, A., & Holmes, J. (2000). Meditation: concepts, effects and uses in therapy. International Journal of Psychotherapy, 5(1), 49–58.
• Ross, A., & Thomas, S. (2010). The health benefits of yoga and exercise: A review of comparison studies. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 16(1), 3–12. 
• van den Berg, M. M. H. E., Maas, J., Muller, R., Braun, A., Kaandorp, W., van Lien, R., Van Poppel, M. N. M., van Mechelen, W., & van den Berg, A. E. (2015). Autonomic Nervous System Responses to Viewing Green and Built Settings: Differentiating Between Sympathetic and Parasympathetic Activity. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(12), 15860. 
• Vincent, E., Battisto, D., Grimes, L., & Mccubbin, J. (2010). The Effects of Nature Images on Pain in a Simulated Hospital Patient Room. Health Environments Research & Design Journal, 3(3), 42–56.​