Progressive Relaxation

by Edmund Jacobson

The first scientific study of rest.

Genres: Health

491 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1929

Reviews

[P.J. Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very technical book about the art of physical relaxation, the release of residual tensions from the neuromuscular system of the body, including the mind. The author believed that the way to relax the mind was to relax the body. "If the patient is shown how to relax the voluntary system, there later tends to follow a similar quiescence of the vegetative apparatus. Emotions tend to subside as he relaxes." Relaxation must be cultivated until it becomes a habit, until it proceeds "automatically with little or no clearly conscious direction." Relaxation is "the negative of doing."

This book has important insights to offer, but most readers will find it too technical, even unreadable at times. Chapters 4 to 6 are the meat of the book, the how-to chapters. They discuss the nature and technique of relaxation.