Somatic relaxation refers to a method that emphasizes muscle
relaxation through detailed observation of and introspection of the body’s
kinesthetic sensations (i.e., purposeful relaxation of muscles).Cognitive
relaxation refers to the use of a mental device (e.g., word, thought, sound,
breathing) and the practice of a passive or nonjudgmental attitude to induce
relaxation in the mind and body. In this article we discuss two somatic
relaxation methods, JPRT and APRT. JPRT is a systematic but lengthy method of
becoming aware of and relaxing all the
muscles in the body. APRT is a shortened version of the JPRT and differs from
JPRT in its basic principles of application.
Research on the physiologic effects of APRT demonstrated
that relaxation practice blunted the excitatory autonomic changes experienced
in response to everyday life events. APRT accomplished this effect by
modulating both arms of the autonomic cardiovascular control system (i.e., sympathetic and vagal). Relaxation also
induced the release of endogenous opioids. These opioids are partially
responsible for reducing circulatory stress reactivity that occurs in response
to relaxation practice. The practice of relaxation was discovered to improve
immune competence, especially in older populations who often experience a loss
of immune function.
APRT has been effectively used as an intervention for a
variety of medical conditions, including chemotherapy induced nausea and vomiting,
hypertension, pain control mood state management, and epilepsy.
PHILOSOPHY
OF PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION THERAPY
Jacobson would eventually conclude that (1) detailed
observation and introspection of the body’s kinesthetic sensations, as well as
the mental processes that accompany them, were necessities if a person were to
accomplish complete relaxation; and (2) localized body tensions occur as
meaningful acts that originate in one’s imagination and thoughts. For example,
just the thought of moving a limb produces measurable EMG responses in that
limb.
Jacobson concluded that all thought is followed by
musculoskeletal activity, even though the response amplitude may be nearly
undetectable. Conversely, mental processes diminish or disappear as muscle
relaxation reaches its maximal levels. In other words, although we may not
think with our muscles, our muscles are involved in the thinking process.
Jacobson believed cognitive activities were identical to the energies expended
when neuromuscular circuits resonate. Therefore if neuromuscular circuits
become completely relaxed( i.e., are silenced), then cognitive activity will
also be silenced.
Jacobson argued that experiencing emotion while being
totally relaxed was impossible. Thus the key to developing emotional control,
Jacobson believed, was to learn progressive relaxation. Jacobson taught that
relaxing the muscles that embody an undesired emotion will contain or eliminate
the undesired emotion. This embodiment of the mind and emotions in the musculature
was an essential part of Jacobson’s teachings. Tension was the process by which
the emotions were embodied; the purpose of the tension was the meaning. The two
concepts-the tension process and the meaning of the tension-became the
foundation of Jacobson’s future relaxation research. For the next 70 years,
Jacobson tested his basic concepts and the foundational principle: To relax the
mind and body, the individual must relax all skeletal musculature.
Jacobson believed that to remain healthy, a person must
develop habits of effective rest. If these habits are learned and practiced,
then tension maladies can be prevented, and bodily energy would be used more
efficiently. Jacobson noted that a startle response (i.e., a fight-or-flight
effect) normally results in people hunching forward, rising to the balls of
their feet, and preparing for battle (Cannon, 1929). This startle reaction
naturally elicits a cascade of autonomic and endocrine responses that help the
person survive. However, if this condition becomes chronic, and if relaxation fails
to follow, then a continued state of hyperactivity occurs in the body that can
result in pathologic abnormalities. Successful application of progressive
muscle relaxation returns the body to a healthier state. Accomplishing
progressive relaxation meant literally getting in touch with and learning to
control the tension levels in all the striated muscles in the body.
MECHANISMS
OF RELAXATION
Jacobson’s
Progressive Relaxation Therapy
To practice the method known as JPRT, a person learns to
identify highly sensitive sensory observations of what occurs beneath the skin.
This learning considered a form of physiologic introspection. Whereas tension
is a contraction of muscle fibers that elicits a tension sensation, relaxation
is the lengthening of these fibers that then eliminates the tension
sensation. The process of observing the tension, relaxing it away, and
observing the difference in a muscle before and after relaxation is then
systematically applied to all major muscle groups. With practice, the
individual can fine-tune the ability to recognize sensory tension signals and
then, at will, to relax away any tension not desirable in the body. The final
goal of JPRT is to develop what is known as automaticity –a state in
which the person automatically and unconsciously monitors and eliminates
unwanted bodily tensions ( McGuigan, 1993).
Learning progressive relaxation involves detecting the
faintest of tension signals. The individual often starts with obvious signals,
such as raising the hand at a 90-degree angle. Then the person experiences the
effects of tension in the forearm and carefully observes and notes the
sensations. The person then moves on to more subtle tension cues, such as
raising the hand to a 45-degree angle, then to a 20-degree angle, and so on.
When the student is proficient at this practice, he or she can identify a
tension signal of perhaps one-one thousandth(1/1000), the intensity of the
signal experienced in the first exercise. This level of signaling is common in
muscles of the tongue and eyes. Requesting an individual to generate and
experience high-intensity tension is, Jacobson believed, counterproductive
given that the purpose of JPRT is to learn control of more and more subtle.
Therefore no purposeful tensing of muscles should occur while practicing JPRT.
JPRT is quite different from hypnosis because practitioners
avoid using suggestion, that is, telling students their muscles are getting
heavy or warm. Jacobson was careful to note that he intended students to learn
physiologic control, leading to changes in the body different from those that
occur in response to suggestion (Benson, Greenwood, and Klemchuk, 1976;
Jacobson, 1938). Jacobson believed that relaxation had occurred when, in fact,
it had not. Other researchers have pointed out that the words relaxation
exercise and response are inappropriate in the context of
Jacobsonian progressive relaxation. JPRT was intended to be delivered in a
scientific and clinical context, and because relaxation is opposite of work,
the terms exercise and response
are contradictory to the intended outcome. A person cannot make an effort
to relax, because effort guarantees failure (McGuigan, 1993).
Initially, the required time investment to learn JPRT seemed
extreme to many people. For example, practicing in one position might take as
long as 3 hours. Jacobson eventually shortened his methods to allow practice of
three positions in 1 hour. However, Jacobson believed no true shortcuts existed
to learning to relax a body that had been in a state of tension for decades.
