Tension is a natural resource for your body. However, we've adapted ourselves to the cultural perspective that tension is our adversary. We have dedicated great degrees of effort and creativity to reducing the disruptive influences of tension. We've created pills to assist us with our inability to be at ease in our bodies and our lives. We've learned practices to relieve our struggles and amplify relaxation. We participate in activities to discharge blockages and restore balance. But no matter what we do, tension returns. With tension as our adversary, we seem to be in constant battle for peace. Maybe we need a new assumption; maybe it's time to gain a new perspective. Is it possible that tension could be an ally in our growth?
We can identify tension through states of acknowledged discomfort: as we become reactive, through a sense of being controlled, as we encounter limitations, as expressed through worry & strain. However, tension is also definable as a byproduct of the energy that is your power supply for life. Tension is the consequence of "held energy" in your being. Energy is needed by every aspect of your being as food for optimal functioning in your body, mind, emotions & spirit. The level at which you function is determined by how much "freed up energy" is available for your being to use ~ to fuel you at either survival levels of function or in states of thriving and growth. So in this way, tension can be viewed as a "marker" for reminding you that you have vital life energy in storage, like unused money in the bank.
How does held energy become freed-up so you can have more fuel to live your life more fully? Transforming the state of your energy is a process of conversion. As tension builds in our bodies, so does focus. This focus signals us to bring our attention back into ourselves and listen to our needs. Sometimes, we listen through the sensations of restriction, fullness or tightness. Other times, our symptoms link us to our tension. Through all of this support, we are given the chance to make a voluntary shift in focus back to ourselves. However, if we are unwilling to listen, then we can expect our symptoms to intensify to the point of "demanding" that we return to home base and listen to our bodies. It is essential for our health and wholeness that we learn to be responsible for ourselves by tuning-in, recognizing & responding to our needs.
There are many health practices that offer structure for this learning process of greater self-responsibility. However, you have it within you right now to begin paying attention:
1) TUNING-IN TO YOUR NEEDS: The easiest way of adopting this daily practice is through the support of your focused breath & touch. Offer yourself a pause each day, closing your eyes to give yourself a break from the input of the world, and breathe, at least 10-20 breaths, inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your mouth. Use each breath to bring your attention, from wherever it is at this moment, back onto you and back into your body. Place your hands on your torso wherever you feel your breath moving in your body (for example, your belly, ribcage or your chest). Your touch is a natural cue that your brain knows how to translate into focus.
Pause at least once a day to consciously tune-in to yourself through your breath and touch. Try checking-in before you get out of bed in the morning and before you fall asleep at night. Do this tuning-in process when you feel yourself getting stressed in your day, moving too fast or feeling too busy. Feel your muscles expand outward with the inhale and release inward with the exhale. Allow yourself to shift your attention back to your internal setting. This is where your needs reside, inside you. This pause is your time to remember the importance of you & your needs in the midst of your busyness.
2) RECOGNIZING YOUR NEEDS: After you have found your breath, notice your tension. Recognize where it is it located … all over, in your head, in a specific set of muscles or deep inside you? Notice where you feel tired, heavy or uncomfortable, and bring your touch there. Breathe in your nose & out your mouth as you link your awareness to the tension. Let your breath be gentle, not too intense or deep, just easy and full.
If your breath is hard to connect with, count out the length of your inhale & exhale. We tend to breathe shallow when we are busy. Find out your baseline breathing rhythm by counting out the reach of your in & out breath. Notice if your inhale & exhale rhythms match. Challenge yourself to stretch out your breath one increment at a time. The count of five will be a full breath. If your baseline breath is at two, then a gradual shift to a three then four-count will be enough to supportively alter your blood pressure, heart rate and brain waves. Find a comfortable shift that you can allow.
3) RESPONDING TO YOUR NEEDS: The purpose of energy is to express life, and movement is the means for that expression. Tension reminds us of our need for movement. Movement is necessary to our physical, mental & emotional health. Our bodies need to move, our thoughts need to change, and our feelings need to express. Tension will build in us as a result of stifled movement if any of these needs go unacknowledged.
Change is movement, and movement allows us to embrace change rather than resist it. Change stretches us, and our degree of being stretched for growth produces tension. So touch the tension in your body, in your head, wherever you can notice it, and offer the needed movement with your hands. Remember that movement brings change naturally, so you don't need to force it or figure it out. You have your breath to internally massage and help you feel yourself. You have your touch to bring the warmth & circulation needed to restore your body's energy flow. And you have your focus to direct your movement, allowing your being to stretch beyond the bindings of your tension and seek the spaciousness that is needed for integration.
Tension prompts you to embody the movement that is needed to alter your momentum, to merge your attention with the flow of change and connect your presence into the moment that is unfolding right now. Tension serves as a guardian, deterring you from faltering or losing yourself in a life of settling and habitual routines. Tension honors your conviction for growth and leads you back to stand on firm ground. Tension is a reminder of your WHOLE SELF ~ that who you are is of greater value than your separate parts. The way of the world emphasizes that only certain parts of us are needed for participation in life, and we are practiced at offering only those parts that will assure us the things we need most. But we must also remember that it takes a tremendous amount of energy to be compartmentalized in our being, and it comes with specific consequences that absolutely diminish our quality of life.
Change is occurring in us daily, and if we do not choose to tune-in, recognize & respond to these changes, then we will eventually find ourselves living a life that has little or no meaning. So grant yourself a daily pause to remember your needs, as these are your special instructions for finding inspiration & wholeness. Practice listening to your tension. Your body is a literal wealth of insights, and your tension is a devoted reminder of the treasures that are waiting to be discovered inside you. These treasures are the gifts of who you are, and your gifts are urgently needed in this world.
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