Do you have tension in your jaw right now? And in your neck and shoulders? How about your stomach muscles – are they fully relaxed? And are you holding your breath?
Do you know that many people with chronic fatigue have a great deal of musculoskeletal tension in their bodies? This is very often directly linked to the emotional and psychological holding I have mentioned in previous posts.
This unconscious holding in the physical body impacts your energy in many ways.
Consider a traffic jam when one lane is closed. When we hold physical tension in the body our energy cannot flow easily and can get stuck (this is especially the case when we are holding emotions and traumas in the body). Not breathing fully because of physical tension means we do not receive vitality through generous intakes of oxygen. Physical tension impacts metabolism and circulation/nerve supply. Finally, when we hold physical tension in the body we are not only less easily able to create energy but we also are less able to receive energy/vitality/qi from outside of ourselves.
This is heightened when there is a difficulty trusting life, which is often the case when there is emotional and physical holding present.
A relaxed mind creates a relaxed body which creates a relaxed mind and the cycle continues. And a relaxed body is in an optimal state to heal. Also, far less energy is used up on all the holding and tension.
However, we first have to become conscious that we are holding and then we need to feel safe enough to let go of all the holding patterns (this is what module 1 – 4 of the Fatigue to Flow Coaching covers). Then we need to learn how to release the belief systems, expectations and traumas that are creating the armouring, tension and holding in the body (this is the focus of modules 5 & 6 of my Fatigue to Flow coaching, including using BWRT to reframe and release traumas).
Stress-Busting Release Exercise:
Here’s a little takeaway exercise for you to do at home to release tension: Firstly, regularly scan your body to feel where you are holding tension and when you are holding tension. Then, when you recognise tension, stand with the balls of your feet remaining connected to the floor and gently bounce up and down with your body loose and relaxed. Even let your neck and head move but be gentle. You can also just add a good shake of all the different body parts. Keep breathing deeply and consciously with a focus on the outbreath. This exercise helps to unblock frozen energy/qi in the body and to release trauma/tension.
If you would like become more aware of holding in your life, how it shows up and how to shift it, you are welcome to set up a complimentary call and we can discuss my Fatigue to Flow Coaching Programme to see if it is a fit for you.
