Lesson 1425: Relaxation Exercises to Reduce Physical Tension
Duration:60 minutes
Topic Introduction:
This course focuses on "how to gently relax physical tension without overly focusing on symptoms." Many clients of somatic symptom disorder often feel like they're "ready for trouble": stiff neck and shoulders, clenched jaw, tight chest, shallow breathing—as if relaxing would cause their bodies to "lose control" or cause them to miss some danger signal. Therefore, even when exhausted, they remain highly alert, resulting in a vicious cycle of tension and sensitivity. This course won't ask you to "completely relax immediately," but will guide you through several actionable exercises—such as regulating your breathing rhythm, segmented muscle scanning and release, and performing "tight-relaxation" contrast exercises in a safe posture—to help your brain experience that relaxation is not abandonment, but rather allowing the body to slightly relieve some of its burden within a controllable range. We will also discuss why some people become more tense when doing relaxation exercises, how to adjust the pace, shorten the time, and negotiate with their bodies to make relaxation a gradually accumulative skill, rather than another "frustrating task if not done well."
○ The core idea of reducing physical stress
- The approach has shifted from "full-body relaxation" to "targeting specific areas first":Start by practicing on the part of your body that is easiest to relax.
- Replace a single "very long" time with short, multiple times:Short exercises of 3–5 minutes are easier to stick to.
- Not pursuing "completely no feeling":The goal is to be "slightly loose and bearable".
- Let your breath lead the way:First, stabilize your breathing rhythm, then gradually relax your muscles.
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▲ AI Interaction: Design Your "Mini Relaxation Menu"“
Question 1: What are the three areas that are most prone to tension for you? (e.g., shoulders and neck, back, stomach, forehead, jaw)
Question 2: In what situations are you most likely to feel tense all over? (For example: before a meeting, before bed, while waiting for test results)
Question 3: What is the minimum relaxation time you would be willing to try?
Enter this information into the button below and let AI create a "3-minute relaxation menu" that's perfect for your day, not just something you can do in an ideal state.
○ Music-guided synchronization of breathing and rhythm
Choose a piece of music with a slow tempo and steady rhythm (preferably without obvious lyrics), and try the following steps:
① For the first minute, focus solely on listening to the rhythm and don't rush to change your body posture;
② Then, for the next 2–3 minutes, gently adjust your breathing to “slightly longer exhales”, for example, inhale for 3 counts and exhale for 4–5 counts, aligning your exhales with the longer phrases of the music;
③ In the last 1–2 minutes, focus your attention on a tense area (such as the shoulder) and imagine that with each exhale, this area is gently “lowered down a little” by the music.
Don't try to relax completely in one breath. As long as you feel the tension soften a little bit between a few exhales, that's the result of the practice.
○ Eastern Healing Tea: A Calming and Depressing Evening Tea
Recommended drinks:Rose and mimosa flower soothing tea
Combine a small amount of rose petals and mimosa flowers, steep in hot water at 80–85℃, let stand for a moment before drinking. When practicing, you can use tea as the starting point for a "relaxation ritual":
While holding the teacup, take three rounds of slow breathing, engaging your senses of smell, taste, and temperature to help your brain shift from "high alertness" to "allowing for a temporary rest."
The point is not how magical tea is, but to let the body know through a repetitive little ritual that it is time to relax a little.
○ Healing Soup: Astragalus and Codonopsis Soup for Relaxation
People who are under high stress for a long time often experience qi deficiency and weakness, palpitations and sweating, and fatigue after slight exertion. A spleen-strengthening and qi-tonifying decoction, which combines astragalus, codonopsis, a small amount of atractylodes, and red dates, can be used in small amounts and regularly under professional advice to provide the body with relatively stable energy, so that you will not feel weak and powerless when you relax during relaxation exercises.
When your Qi is sufficient and your spleen and stomach functions improve, your body no longer equates "relaxation" with "collapse," and you are more able to tolerate the transition from tension to relaxation.
Relieve fatigue
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○ Mandala Viewing - Slowly loosen it, circle by circle.
A mandala is not about drawing something, but about observing it.
Imagine the center of the mandala as a small, tightly clenched area, while the outer rings are layers of space that can slowly expand. When viewing it, coordinate with your breathing rhythm: when inhaling, let your gaze rest on the center and acknowledge, "This is indeed very tight"; when exhaling, let your gaze slowly slide towards the outer rings, as if each ring is making room for the tension.
You don't need to force yourself to "completely relax." Just experience, in a few breaths, that "tension can be wrapped in a larger space," which is relaxation in itself.
○ Chinese Calligraphy - Regular Script Practice: Turning Relaxation into Rhythm
Regular script emphasizes "concealing the brush tip," "pauses and breaks," and "clear distinction between opening and closing strokes," making it a suitable rhythm teacher for relaxation practice. When writing, you can deliberately slow down the beginning and ending of each stroke, allowing each "pause" to correspond to a slightly longer exhale.
There's no need to strive for beautiful handwriting; instead, let the weight of your wrist, the strength of your grip, and the changes in your breathing combine to create a "miniature choreography for relaxation of body and mind."
Practice sentences:“"It's okay to go slower."”
○ The trajectory of easing physical tension: Art therapy
By using simple line variations, the process of "from very tight to slightly looser" is drawn, allowing you to see that every practice session is not in vain, but rather accumulates a visible trajectory.
1. Draw the "taut line".“
- Draw a very tight, almost non-existent zigzag line from left to right on a piece of paper to symbolize your current state of physical tension.
- Write down typical scenarios next to this line, such as "the day before the inspection", "while scrolling through my phone before bed", and "a period of high work pressure".
2. Draw the "loosening line".“
- Draw another line below, making the corners gradually rounded and the spacing slightly wider, symbolizing the subtle changes brought about by each short relaxation exercise.
- Next to a few of the more stable paragraphs, write down exercises you can use, such as "3 minutes of breathing", "listen to a piece of music", or "write a few strokes of regular script".
Once finished, view your artwork as evidence that "I'm on my way," rather than proof that "I'm not good enough." You can also take a photo and upload it, letting AI help you record and organize the changes in your subsequent practice.
Please log in before submitting your drawings and feelings.
○ 1425. Relaxation Exercises to Reduce Physical Tension - Guided Journaling
① In which situation did you feel the most obvious tension in your body today? Please describe it in detail.
② What relaxation exercises did you try? (Breathing, music, stretching, calligraphy, short walks, etc.) How much did this change the tension?
③ Write a sentence to encourage yourself, such as: "I am not completely relaxed yet, but I am a little more relaxed than yesterday."“
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Relaxation is not a one-time leap forward, but a series of small back-and-forths from "too tight" to "barely okay". These subtle loosenings are quietly changing your body's memory.
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