Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) is a somatic technique that systematically tenses and releases muscle groups across the body to build physical awareness and deep muscular relaxation.
Physical muscle tension and psychological anxiety feed into each other in a feedback loop. Deliberately contracting a muscle group before releasing it creates a contrast that activates parasympathetic release:
Techniques like paced breathing and sensory grounding directly activate the vagus nerve, sending safety signals to the brain stem to turn down autonomic fight-or-flight arousal.
Camic guides you through a head-to-toe PMR sequence, pacing each tension and release interval.
Jacobson, E. (1938). Progressive Relaxation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Bernstein, D.A., & Borkovec, T.D. (1973). Progressive Relaxation Training: A Manual for the Helping Professions. Research Press.
