Unwind Tension in the Body
Tense shoulders and headaches. Stomach discomfort and poor digestion. Locking jaws and tight hips or chest. Tension manifests in the body in many ways. Some tension has obvious symptoms, others more subtle. The more subtle can linger and compound for years, sometimes manifesting through inflammation or more chronic health issues. These psychosomatic tensions are often linked to unprocessed emotional or physical trauma, held within the body as tension.
To understand tension, or holding, we must explore expansion and contraction. As human vessels, we continually ebb and flow on micro and macro levels. Day and night. Summer and winter. Activation and relaxation. Inhale and exhale. Connection and disconnection. Joy and grief. Safety and fear, etc. Each duality inspires an expansion and contraction within the body.
Expansion, when positive, feels like a leaning towards, a softening, opening, and a feeling of “yes”. Contraction then feels like a moving away, a hardening, closing, shrinking and a feeling of “no”. Tension forms from compounded contraction; for example, a headache from prolonged screen staring or shoulder tension from being on continual high alert.
Sometimes though expansion isn't pleasant, especially when there's significant emotional charge. Deeper-held psychosomatic tension often arises from a contraction that came in to limit the expansion of intense negatively charged e-motion (energy in motion). When extremely upset, angry or ashamed, you’ll feel a surge of heat and pressure in the body with a heart rate increase - this is the charge. The body's muscles and fascia then contract to try to manage and control it, to prevent overwhelm. This inner conflict leads to bodily tension. Particularly when we frequently operate from this contracted state.
Generally, pendulation between expansion and contraction is healthy and necessary when you are regulated. But when this happens outside your window of tolerance, and the experience is too overwhelming, it’s harder to process and come back from.
Your breath embodies constant expansion and contraction. When you inhale, muscles contract to draw in air, and heart rate slightly increases. On the exhale, muscles relax, and heart rate decreases slightly. The variation between is your Heart Rate Variability (HRV): a significant indicator of overall health and well-being. Through your breath, and by creating a sense of safety in the body to feel, you can unwind tension from these past intense contractions.
