RELAXATION - MAPPING AN UNCHARTED WORLD

Nine hundred and forty practitioners of massage, abbreviated progressi ve muscle relaxation (PMR), yoga stretching, breathing, imagery, medit ation, and various combination treatments described their technique ex periences on an 82-item wordlist. Factor analysis yielded 10 interpret able relaxation categories Joyful Affects and Appraisals (Joyful), Dis tant, Calm, Aware, prayerful, Accepted Untroubled, Limp, Silent, and M ystery. The relaxation response and cognitive/somatic specificity mode ls predict Calm and Limp, which account for only 5.5% of the variance of relaxation experience. Unlike much of previous relaxation research, we found important technique differences. PMR and massage are associa ted with Distant and Limp; yoga stretching, breathing, and meditation with Aware; meditation with Prayerful, and all techniques except PMR w ith Joyful. Results are consistent with cognitive-behavioral relaxatio n theory and have implications for relaxation theory, treatment, train ing, assessment, and research. We close with a revised model of relaxa tion that posits three global dimensions: tension-relief; passive dise ngagement, and passive engagement.