HOW TO RELAX EVEN
WHEN YOU'RE BUSY
In this second part of our two-week
course in tension control, you'll learn how to get
more done by taking it easier
By CURTIS MITCHELL
President of the Association for Control of Tension
THE thought is preposterous, even
revolutionary. How in the world can
you do more by doing less?
The science of the body provides the answer.
By relaxing, you unlock tensions that inhibit
and hamper. By relaxing, you work better and
vjlay happier. And you feel like a million. So take
it easier, science says, and get more done.
You can relax in two ways. You can relax your
entire body all at once during your day's quiet
time, according to principles taught in the first
part of our two-week course (Family Weekly,
Feb. 17, 1963). Or you can relax a part of your
body at any time, using the same principles of
locating a tightness in a muscle and releasing
it. We call this last method Differential Relaxa
tion, and busy people love it. It has two goals.
First, it seeks to eliminate tension in muscles
that are not really required to do the job you
are undertaking.
Second, it seeks to reduce tension in muacles
that must be used in your work.
Science has proved that you can work and re
lax at the same time. In one famous experiment,
a group of girls sat on stools, legs hanging free,
as they read magazines. Electrical instruments
measured the amount of agitation they devel
oped in their leg muscles. Later, after they had
been taught to relax differentially, they were
subjected to the same experiment. This time, the
instruments measured a much lower degree of
tension. The girls were saving energy they had
wasted before; they were using only enough en
ergy to do the job of reading.
Moving your eyes along a line of print employs
certain eye muscles. No need to twist your legs
about a chair, to frown, or to gasp. You can learn
to eliminate such tensions.
Train yourself and save yourself. Do this dur
ing your working day, and you will be fresher
at night, readier to eat a good meal, and able to
sleep more soundly.
These rules will help:
1. As you tackle a job, tell yourself, "I'm go
ing to use only the muscles I must use."
2. Tell yourself, "I'm going to use only enough
strength (contraction) to do what I must do."
3. After you have started, let your mind "scan"
your body to see if muscles, besides those you
need, have tightened. After a few trials, you will
be able to do this in a split second. Typical lurk
ing places for contraband tensions are the neck
and shoulders, jaw and abdomen. If you discover
unneeded contractions, do away with them. And
get on with your work.
4. Ask yourself if your working muscles are
tighter or harder than need be. If so, taper off;
. seek a balance between whatever expenditure
of energy is essential to get the job done and the
least amount that you must apply to it
Try these rules for a few weeks and note the
results. Most students of relaxing slip into
the habit of scanning their bodies at various times
during the day, noting tensions that exist in
muscles that are not needed and relaxing them.
At first, this makes some persons uncomfortable,
so accustomed have they grown to burning up
energy. But when they learn to throttle back,
they discover they are working faster, with bet
ter control, and enjoying it more.
It seems preposterous that you can take it
easier and get more done. But every day of their
lives, thousands of persons are demonstrating
that this is true and using it to build successful
careers and homes. Differential Relaxation real
ly works in the kitchen or at the movies, behind
the wheel or behind a desk.
Try it and be invigorated.
Instructions for Practice Sessions
SECOND WEEK
General and Every Day: Last week you
were taught to relax several important muscle
groups. This week you will learn to relax other
groups until you can detect and release tensions
in the 15 most important segments of your body.
Happily, relaxation spreads from one muscle
to another. Relax the abdominal wall, and it
spreads to the stomach and other internal or
gans. Relax any muscle, and others nearby relax.
It's like compound interest on money. In this
case, the greater your investment of time, the
bigger the benefits.
1st DAY: Your assignment is to locate nor
mal tensions to find unsuspected useless or ex
treme tensions, then to relax them. In every les
son, keep the eyes closed except when you must
read instructions.
Today you study neck muscles. Take the basic
position, sitting in your chair so that your back
is supported, feet either flat or resting on heels.
Close the eyes, rest forearms on the arms of your
chair, and drop the head forward (Fig. 1). Rest
quietly for five minutes, estimating the time.
Now raise the head slowly until it is erect and
in the position it usually occupies when you work
(Fig. 2). As you raise it, you should feel a tight
ening of muscles in the back of the neck. Quickly
relax and let the head fall forward again. Allow
the back-of-the-neck muscles to go to zero.
Next, raise the head slightly till it is only half
erect and note the tension in the back of the
neck. Quickly relax and go to zero.
Finally, with head drooping, imagine that you
are pulling it upright and holding it there for a
moment; then relax as before. Did you feel the
very slight tension and relaxation of muscles at
the back of your neck? Continue to relax for 10
or 15 minutes.
Next, start with the head erect and follow the
same procedure while bending the head to the
right (Fig. S). The first bending movement is vig-
FIG. 3
FIG. 4
orous, the second slight, and the third imaginary.
Bending to the right, you should note tensions in
the right side of the neck as those muscles con
tract. Relax them and go to zero. Then bend the
head to the left (Fig. 4) and repeat.
Finally, let the head droop forward and relax
the whole body, with all neck muscles at zero, for
at least 10 minutes. Time: 45 to 60 minutes.
ton iiy i
FIG. 5
2nd DAY: Today's subjects are the muscles
of your forehead and eyelids. Many persons use
these muscles so much that they waste energy and
distort their features. Take the basic position and
rest for five minutes, guessing at the time.
Now raise your eyebrows as high as you can
(Fig. 6) so that the forehead is wrinkled. Notice
the tension all across the forehead. Quickly re
lax. Lift the eyebrows again, noting the tension,
family Wrtkly. Ftbnurv 14. IH3
ILLUSTRATIONS Y MARGARET TAKOVENKO