Starting the New Year Strong with Muscle Relaxation

January Monthly Mind Muscle-Up: Progressive Muscle Relaxation

January always arrives with a strange mix of fresh notebooks and clenched shoulders.

As an online tutor, I see it every year. New timetables, ambitious goals, colour-coded planners… and students sitting on the other side of the screen with jaws tight, legs bouncing, shoulders creeping toward their ears. The brain wants to sprint, but the body is still braced like it’s in an exam hall that never ends.

That’s why this month’s Mind Muscle-Up is all about muscle relaxation. Not stretching. Not “trying to calm down”. Just learning how to let go on purpose.

Why muscle relaxation matters for learning

Your body doesn’t separate stress and study. To your nervous system, a looming assessment and a real threat feel uncomfortably similar. Muscles tense. Breathing shortens. Focus narrows. Memory retrieval gets foggy.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation flips the script. By deliberately tensing and releasing muscle groups, you teach your nervous system the difference between “on” and “safe”. It’s like showing your body the exit sign.

Students who practise this regularly often notice:

• Faster recovery after stress

• Better sleep before assessments

• Improved concentration during study

• Less physical restlessness during long tasks

And the best part? You don’t need silence, incense, or a perfect mindset. You just need a few minutes and a body.

How to do January’s Mind Muscle-Up

You can do this lying down, sitting at your desk, or even on your bed before sleep.

Start at your toes and work upward. No rushing. No forcing. Just noticing.

1. Toes and feet: Curl your toes tightly. Hold for five seconds. Release. Let the tension melt downward, like warm water soaking into the floor.

2. Calves: Point your toes away, tightening your calves. Hold. Release. Notice the heaviness that follows.

3. Thighs: Squeeze your thighs together or press your feet into the floor. Hold. Release. Let your legs feel supported rather than alert.

4. Hips and glutes: Clench. Hold. Release. This one surprises people. Stress loves to hide here.

5. Stomach: Pull your belly in gently. Hold. Release. Allow your breathing to soften, not deepen, just soften.

6. Chest and back: Draw your shoulders slightly back, opening the chest. Hold. Release. Let your upper body sink into gravity.

7. Hands: Clench your fists. Hold. Release. Let your fingers loosen like they’ve finished gripping something important.

8. Arms: Tighten your forearms and biceps. Hold. Release. Feel the weight drop out of them.

9. Shoulders: Lift them toward your ears. Hold. Release. Let them fall. This is often where the biggest exhale happens.

10. Neck and jaw: Gently press your head back or forward. Hold. Release. Unclench your jaw. Let your tongue rest.

11. Face: Scrunch your face. Eyebrows, nose, eyes. Hold. Release. Let your face return to neutral, not smiling, not frowning. Just calm.

What I tell my students

You don’t have to feel instantly relaxed for this to work. Sometimes all you notice is how tense you were to begin with. That still counts. Think of this as strength training for calm. Each time you practise, your nervous system gets better at recognising when it’s safe to stand down. January doesn’t need more pressure. It needs better recovery.

This month, alongside your study goals and academic plans, establish this habit. Five minutes. Toes to forehead. Tense. Release. Reset.

Your brain learns best when your body knows it can breathe.