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Method relaxation exercise
Sit in a chair and let your body go limp like a rag doll, relaxing your neck against the top of the chair and letting your head fall back. Now, lift one arm up to the side to check for tension. You can move the arm around to check for tension in different muscles and then let the arm fall back, relaxed. Move on to do the same for the other arm and both legs, then release tension in your back, torso, face and neck. You can access the facial muscles through grimacing and check your neck by gently rolling the head from side to side. Also try to release tension in your throat and tongue. If you feel yourself tensing up even more or if you feel an emotion swelling up, take a deep breath and release a long “ah” sound, making sure you keep your throat relaxed. Continue to release the emotion through sound, so you don’t tense up again. If you are a beginning actor who has never studied Lee Strasberg’s Method before, don’t try this exercise without being supervised by a method acting teacher. It’s hard to identify tension at first and you want to make sure you’re in a relaxed position where you won’t hurt your neck or upper back.