8 Relaxation Techniques to Release Stress & Tension from Your Body
It’s no secret that you can feel stress in your physical body. Stress is a part of life, and it isn’t always a bad thing! However, when it starts to consume us and we chronically feel overwhelmed, it can take a serious toll on our bodies. It may even lead to unexplainable musculoskeletal pain and tension.
Our Muscle Activation Technique expert, Maurice Harden, shares some of the best techniques to release stress and alleviate tension. You don’t have to simply accept your pain – mental or physical – when there are solutions to help you get back to feeling your best.
Let’s jump in!
Why is a Stressed Mind So Physically Painful?
Multiple mechanisms work together to produce a stress response in the body. This process is a good thing because it keeps us safe in life-threatening situations. When the brain perceives a threat, chemicals are released to prepare the body for facing a challenge. You may have heard of the “fight or flight” response.
The heart rate spikes so blood can travel faster through the body to oxygenate the muscles. The muscles tense up to get the body ready for action. Additionally:
The liver releases glucose to power up your cells
Breathing rate speeds up to get more oxygen into the tissues
Body temperature increases to warm up the muscles for movement
Digestion slows down so that energy can be redirected
Most modern cases of stress aren’t the result of life-threatening situations. What’s worse is once the stress cycle starts, most of us fail to release those compounding levels of stress hormones.
Instead of closing the circuit to get back to baseline, we become chronically stressed.
The Symptoms of Chronic Stress
As a result of the previously mentioned physiological processes constantly taking place, the following symptoms may appear:
Brain fog & difficulty concentrating
Fatigue & sleep challenges
Irritability
Sexual dysfunction
Muscle tension and stiffness, particularly in the jaw or neck
Digestive issues
The solution really could be as simple as getting your stress under control. Keep reading for some evidence-based techniques to do so!
8 Techniques & Practices to Add to Your De-Stress Routine
While successful tools for chronic stress management vary from person to person, one of these techniques is bound to make a difference.
1. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
Progressive Muscle Relaxation, or PMR, involves focusing on one muscle group at a time. You slowly tense the muscles before relaxing them, which emphasizes the sense of release in those muscles. Research shows Progressive Muscle Relaxation can:
Reduce anxiety and tension
Relieve neck & low back pain
Lower blood pressure
Decrease the frequency of migraines
Relieve TMJ disorder symptoms
This technique is easy to practice wherever you may be. Many people find it helpful to perform a full-body PMR while lying in bed as they fall asleep. We recommend starting at the toes and working your way up the body.
2. Muscle Activation Technique
Muscle Activation Technique, or M.A.T., is a non-invasive method for alleviating muscle tension caused by stress. It accounts for the interconnectedness of the body and mind, as well as the role of stress and anxiety in causing physical pain.
Muscle Activation Technique targets specific muscles and aims to restore their proper function to alleviate discomfort.
M.A.T. works by identifying areas of muscle weakness or dysfunction through manual testing. Once these areas are identified, specialized exercises are used to activate and strengthen the muscles. This not only relieves tension but also helps prevent future injuries related to imbalanced musculature.
Our M.A.T. providers will help correct muscle imbalances, joint instability, and limitations in range of motion caused by stress. Schedule your session to stress less.
3. Biofeedback
Biofeedback is an innovative approach to medical fitness in which a patient is hooked up to electrodes that measure body functions such as heart rate, blood pressure, and muscle activity. The feedback from these measurements can help the patient learn how to control their body's response to stressors.
One of the most significant benefits of biofeedback is its ability to decrease muscle tension. Biofeedback allows patients to identify the specific muscles that are tense and then actively work on relaxing them.
4. Myofascial Massage
Myofascial massage targets fascia, which is the connective tissue that surrounds and supports muscles, bones, and organs. Fascia can become tight or restricted due to stress, injury, poor posture, or repetitive movements. When this happens, it can cause pain and discomfort.
By using gentle pressure and stretching techniques, myofascial massage helps to release this tension, freeing up movement in your muscles and reducing pain levels.
5. Low-Intensity Exercise
Movement is one of the most effective ways to “close the stress cycle,” as it gives our body something to do with all the physiological impacts of stress. This way, we can metabolize the hormones that arise, such as adrenaline and cortisol.
Gentle exercise will also improve blood flow to all areas of your body and brain that may have been cut off during a stress episode, such as the digestion and reproductive organs.
Here are some kinds of exercises to try:
Walking or hiking
Biking
Swimming
Pilates
Yoga
6. Tai Chi
One particularly powerful kind of low-intensity exercise is Tai Chi. The movements of Tai Chi gently strengthen, stretch, rotate, and twist muscles, tendons, and ligaments throughout the body. This helps restore function to the fascia, or the webbing between our muscles and organs. “Knots” are adhesions of this fascia from inactivity or stress, as it’s interconnected with the nervous system.
Tai Chi is a perfect way to practice mindful movement, one of the most impactful ways to relieve stress and improve emotional stability. With regular Tai Chi practice, we can better cope with daily stressors.
7. Visualization
There are many ways to practice visualization, but the essential idea is to visualize calming mental imagery to bring about a more peaceful state of mind. Some ways you can incorporate visualization when you feel anxious, tense, or stressed include:
Imagining a favorable resolution to a stressful situation
Imagining the tension in your muscles melting away like ice into water or turning into clouds that float away
Visualizing that you are in a calming, peaceful place, such as on a beach or in a place you loved as a child
Visualization taps into the subconscious mind, giving us a chance to let go of stress stored in the nervous system.
8. Breathwork
Taking deep diaphragmatic breaths is an amazing and simple way to relieve tension. It strengthens the diaphragm while reducing the overall amount of energy needed to take a deep breath. Additionally, since stress often increases our breathing rate, taking slow and steady breaths can reverse this effect.
Proper breathing rebalances oxygen and carbon dioxide. Too much carbon dioxide from inadequately expelling air can lead to agitation and further aggravate pain.
Feel Better, Live Your Best
Stress can get in the way of us living a meaningful, joy-filled life. In addition to causing emotional challenges, it can cause physical symptoms such as chronic pain. Fortunately, these aren’t symptoms you are forced to live with.
Our compassionate team is here to help. Contact our Tampa, FL area personal trainers today to book your session and live pain-free!