Jacobson writes, "Living at high tension has for a long time been the order of the day... Since [1880], with the advent of the express train, the telephone, the automobile, the radio and other agencies, it is well known that the general pace of life has increased... so that almost every individual in modern life is obliged to meet demands on his nervous energy that would not have been present many years ago." (I wonder what he would have thought about life in the 21st Century!)
You Must Relax, by Edmund Jacobson (HC, 1934, $13, which is 1/3 the internet price)
Edmund Jacobson first wrote Progressive Relaxation as a guide for physicians, but his publisher wanted something for laymen. The result was You Must Relax. Jacobson had developed a method to teach people to relax. They were taught first to relax a group of muscles, then to relax individual ones. Once patients had learned to relax, they were able to observe when their muscles were tense, and when they needed to use Jacobson's techniques. At first they were only able to relax on the doctor's sofa. They they learned to relax while sitting up, and later how to relax when at a job, or in a stressful situation. (14 plates are included to show you how this all works.) Jacobson claimed his method could treat sleeplessness, indigestion, colitis and high blood pressure.
He was even able to measure scientifically on a graph the amount of muscle relaxation a patient was able to attain. If this all sounds similar to present day relaxation techniques and bio-feedback, well, it should. Jacobson is considered the father of Progressive Relaxation and bio-feedback. Look for this book on the new non-fiction table. (L- gl)
