A system of physical and mental relaxation in which portions of the body are relaxed one by one causing the mind to relax at the same time.
Progressive relaxation is a series of exercises designed by the physician Edmund Jacobson for his tense patients. The method emphasizes the relaxation of the voluntary skeletal muscles by contracting a muscle group and then relaxing it, progressing from one muscle group to another until the total body is relaxed. Individuals eventually learn to recognize tenseness and consciously relax whenever that is needed.
Stress-management technique. It involves progressive contraction and relaxation of muscle groups throughout the body.