Are you holding Tension? Pt1

Tension is a word I hear several times a day…”I feel tense, my muscles are so tight…I have high blood pressure, My neck and back are so stiff!!!”

These are just some of the ways tension will affect your body. Your body is made up of a series of tiny little tubules and capillaries, these are very delicate and in order to function at their optimum and to be kept in a natural flowing flexible state they must be kept soft and at ease. This is the opposite state of tension. Tension is a normal reaction to stress and at various times tension is perfectly normal. However when tension just builds and builds over months and years the health consequences may not be good.

For those who know they are already tense are in a good place as they are aware of it and therefore the tension has their attention and when it gets bad enough they will do something about it. I also treat so many people who are completely unaware of how tight and tense their entire bodies can be at times. This is much more serious as they are not even in that state of awareness so therefore they will not make the necessary changes to bring about ease and relief and relaxation in the body.

One way of finding out if you are holding tension or not is to regularly check in with yourself at least once a day and see how you feel:

• How do you feel right now?
• Where are you holding your tension right now?
• How does your jaw feel, touch it, become aware of it… we naturally hold most of our tension in the jaw, neck, head and shoulder areas?
• How does it feel to rotate your neck/head, how does it feel to stretch your body?
• How do you feel upon rising out of bed or after sitting for a period?
• Do you suffer from tension headaches?
• How do you feel after driving? Are you stiff, achy and sore?
• How uptight do you get when things do not go your way?
• How do you feel in particular environments or when in particular peoples company?

Check in regularly and make note of how you feel, the more you connect your mind and body, the better!!

Tension can persist and cause pain and inflammation and is a huge cause of reduction in energy levels. Tension can upset every part of the body especially the blood vessels and the digestive system. A weak tight tense digestive system can lead onto tight neck, shoulder and jaw muscles not to mention all the digestive symptoms which go with it.

When the digestive system is under strain e.g. lacking in digestive enzymes, or has nasty bacteria overload, or is overworked from poor dietary eating habits the related muscles in the front upper chest weaken and thus tighten all surrounding muscles. Every muscle has an opposite and opposing muscle, so one needs to be in a state of contraction while the other is in a relaxed state, so they can function normally and you therefore can move with ease.

See you next week for part two, this week increase your body awareness.

For one to one help contact me on gertrude@kinesicare.ie