Find us again!
Click here, then add the page to your Favorites or Bookmarks.

Over 175 articles on:

• Mood, anxiety
• Treatments
• Medications
• Lifestyles
• The system
• Book reviews
• Personal stories

Help support Moodletter
with $12/year? Or more?

Moodletter provides information, hope and help to people living with depression, anxiety or bipolar disorder and those who care for them. A 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

©2006-2010 Moodletter, Inc.
All rights reserved

Our emotions can cause certain muscle groups to tense and tighten, causing the fatigue that often accompanies chronic stress. This exercise help release tension and the blocked emotions held in tight muscles.

Lie on your back in a comfortable position, eyes closed. Allow your arms to rest at your sides, palms down, on the surface next to you. Inhale and exhale slowly and deeply. Clench your hands into fists and hold them tightly for 15 seconds.

As you do this, relax the rest of your body. Visualize your fists contracting, becoming tighter and tighter. Then let your hands relax.

Now, tense and relax the following parts of your body in this order: face, shoulders, back, stomach, pelvis, legs, feet, and toes. Hold each part tensed for 15 seconds and then relax your body for 30 seconds before going on to the next part.

Finish the exercise by shaking your hands and imagining the remaining tension flowing out of your fingertips.

Related articles
How to relax
Yoga for mental health
Meditate to relax
More articles

Page updated August 1, 2010