Progressive Muscle Relaxation.

I've been uncomfortable tight across the back of my shoulders for the last few weeks. I'm stiff even when I get up in the morning. I can't get rid of it while at work obviously, and it doesn't relax in the evening, and no amount of stretching helps much. Yesterday I was so irritated, I'd just decided to get a massage soon, when I had an idea that would be cheaper, and worth trying first. There's some sort of yoga thing for relaxing.

I did a quick search of audible and itunes, listening to samples of tracks that talk you through relaxing your muscles group by group. It's sort of like you concentrate a "yawn" on a part of your body: clench, hold, then relax, then move on. I found one I liked the voice, Ken Goodman, Progressive Muscle Relaxation, and spent $1.69.

I did it while dinner was cooking, but I wasn't sure if you lie down or stand or sit, so I was jumping around and swapping (sitting in my high-backed armchair was the best way way), but in the end it was definitely relaxing. So I did it again around 9pm, it goes for 10 minutes. I went to bed and fell asleep pretty much straight after. And this morning, my shoulders and breathing felt looser. I can gradually feel myself getting a little tense again as the day goes on, frowning at the computer and so on.

I think if you drive, a car would be a brilliant place to do this, when you get home at night. Put the seat back a little and you've got good support for your head and everything. There are some free podcasts of this stuff on itunes so you can try it for free. I'd be interested in hearing if it works for anyone else.