How to release tension: Part 1

I had a student mention that she notices tension in her shoulders outside of class and wondered how could she release that. I have a few great techniques to help with this and I will be sharing a couple towards the end of this post. It also got me to thinking about how we hold so much tension in our bodies both in and outside of yoga class.

First think I'd like to share is yoga is a practice and a fantastic opportunity to learn from our bodies. We do not only experience tightness in our bodies when we are in yoga class as this student recognized. Often tension can be carried for quite some time in the body for a variety of reasons. We could go into the why and analyze that, but really that just takes us out of our bodies and into our heads.

I find acknowledgement to be the best first step. When I'm in a pose, after I've made my adjustments, I'll begin to breathe and mentally scan my body, noticing any discomfort any tension and space any tightness and so on. What I have found overtime, is as I acknowledge those tight spots the tension simply releases.

This is what I call the "kid in the grocery store factor". You know when you go to the grocery store and you hear a kid going "Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom. Mom.." basically nonstop until the mom finally (and usually exacerbated at this point) says "What?" Usually the small child will say what he/she needs to say and stops. Our bodies can be like that child, all it needs is to simply be acknowledged and often times it just stops.

If this isn't enough then another simple thing to do is breathe with the intention of sending your breath to that specific area of the body. If you are in tuned with energy, this may be easy to get. Something that may help you to know is as you breathe deeply, the oxygen will go into the bloodstream, which will take that oxygen to the muscles, and it is the oxygen that will help relax the muscles. So sending the breath to your muscles is actually a very literal experience!

So these are a couple basic techniques you can try anytime you're in a yoga class and in a pose that is either simple or challenging. This is also something you can take off the mat and into your life. Whenever you find yourself in a "tight spot" in life, scan your body, ask yourself "Where am I holding tension" and if simple acknowledgement isn't enough, breath with the intension of sending the breath to that area.

Next week in part 2 I will describe another great technique I've been using for quite sometime, and just recently found out how and why it works! For now, practice these techniques and you'll be ready for the next one!

Be Good 2 Yourself!

Namaste

Brandi