Summary
Yoga teacher Daria Cooper introduces PMR as a personal favorite tool she uses before therapy sessions to manage overwhelm and anxiety. She guides listeners through a complete progressive muscle relaxation from feet to face, coordinating each squeeze with deep inhales and releasing on exhales. Daria explains PMR is helpful for workout warm-ups and cool-downs, releasing stored emotions, managing Sunday anxiety about the coming week, and self-care. The episode concludes with a reflection on how feelings are not facts and a reading about letting go of feeling overwhelmed, emphasizing that peace comes from taking one step at a time in the present moment.
Key Points
- PMR involves tensing and releasing muscles in a specific pattern from feet to face
- Coordinates muscle squeezing with inhales and releasing with exhales
- Useful for pre/post workout, emotional release, anxiety management, and self-care
- Only requires 5-10 minutes in a comfortable seated or lying position
- Key takeaway: feelings are not facts, and ease is always accessible through presence
- Closing reading on letting go of overwhelm by taking one step at a time
Key Moments
PMR as a tool for pre-therapy anxiety and self-care
Daria shares that she personally uses PMR most often before therapy sessions to manage overwhelm, and recommends it as a self-care practice for sitting still, calming down, and reconnecting with yourself.
"this is really good for self-care. If you want to practice just sitting still or calming yourself down or loving on yourself or finding different pieces of yourself. These are just some of the reasons that I have come up with why this is a great technique. And to be truthful, I use this the most with Piper right before a session because I get really overwhelmed"
Breath-synchronized PMR from feet to face
Daria guides a complete PMR session synchronizing muscle squeezing with inhales and releasing on exhales, progressing from feet through legs, hips, torso, chest, shoulders, hands, arms, neck, and finally the face including tongue, teeth, and jaw.
"And then lastly, squeezing all of the muscles in your face, even your tongue and your teeth and your jaw are clenching here. The eyes are shut so tight. Big breath in, squeeze, squeeze, squeeze. And big release, exhale, let go. Now feel the body just floating."
Returning to ease through presence after PMR
After the session, Daria reflects that feelings are not facts and that the ease felt during PMR is always accessible by giving yourself the present moment, then reads a passage about letting go of overwhelm by taking one step at a time.
"What I get from this is a reminder that feelings are not facts. Another thing that I like to remind myself is I can always find this ease. I have the ability to come right back to this juiciness that I feel right now just by giving my mind and my body the present moment."
