Tension Increases Pain

Make a tight fist with your dominant hand and hold it tight while you count slowly to 20. How does it feel now? How does it look? Nothing has changed except for the addition of physical tension.

Most tension is OPTIONAL, destructive and painful. Of course, there are times when you must tighten muscles briefly to accomplish a specific task. We run onto the rocks when a tension “knot” has been there for so long that the brain accepts the knot as normal.

Does the tension accomplish something or is it just hanging around? Chronic tension strangles veins, arteries and nerves and pulls your bones out of alignment. It doesn’t serve you to put up a tension dam that slows the river of oxygen that flows through your body. The hurt you feel is your brain sending you an alarm that you are doing something very wrong.

The length of an EXHALATION is an ideal time to let go of unnecessary tension as if you are letting air out of a balloon. Let’s play with your jaw-hinge muscles first. Sit up comfortably straight. Relax your belly so you can drop your breathing down into the lower lungs.

Imagine that during each exhalation some of the tension drains out from the jaw muscles leaving them soft and loose. This usually takes only three or four breaths. Experiment with dropping your shoulders with each outbreath. Work your way through the body, releasing tension as you go.

Be well. Breathe beautifully.