Softening The Armour: A Body Scan For Held Tension

The body remembers what the mind forgets. Over years we learn to hold ourselves in certain ways: a set jaw, raised shoulders, a belly that never fully lets go. Wilhelm Reich called this armour. It protected us once, and now it often just keeps us tight. This 10 minute body scan moves through seven areas where tension tends to collect, from the eyes down to the pelvis, and invites each one to soften a little. You don't need to force anything. Awareness and breath do most of the work.

Transcript

Hey, It's Pat, And you're welcome. I'm going to encourage you to lie down if you can, On your back. Arms by your sides. Or if sitting feels better for you today, That works too. Just allow your eyes to close. Take a full breath in. And a long slow breath out. Again, A full breath in and allowing a sound come out with it if you like on the exhale a sigh Let's do one more like that, A full breath in. And a sigh. So today we're going to move through the body in seven bands from the top down. And at each one I'll invite you to notice what's being held. Learn to breathe into it. Then to let go of even 10% of the effort. That's all, 10%. So start with the eyes. The muscles around the eyes and the forehead. We can hold a lot here, Watching, Scanning, Staying alert. Notice if there's any squinting, Any narrowing Now let the eyes go heavy in their sockets, Like they're sinking back toward the floor. Let the forehead widen. Move to the mouth and the jaw. Place where we often hold back words or bite down or grit through. Let the teeth part slightly. Let the tongue rest on the floor of the mouth. Maybe a small yawn wants to come. And allow that. Now the throat and the neck, The place where we swallow things down. Place where the voice lives. Imagine the throat getting wider. Softer. Allow the breath to pass through it with no resistance at all. The chest, The shoulders, The upper back, The area around the heart. A lot of us carry our chest like a shield, Held up, Held in. As you breathe in, Just feel the ribs open a little wider. As you breathe out, Just let the shoulders melt down away from the ears. Die from. The band just under your ribs where the breath begins. When we get anxious or we're bracing, This is often the first place to look. So breathe low enough that you feel movement here. And on the exhale, Let it drop. Belly, Tough belly. No need to hold it in here, No one's watching. Allow the belly to rise on the inhale. Let it fall completely on the exhale. Notice if there's any part of you that resists letting the belly be soft and just notice it. Finally, The pelvis. The hips, The lower back. Floor of the pelvis. A deep place of holding for a lot of people. Let the legs roll out a little. If they want to, Let the weight of the hips sink into the ground. And let the base of the body unclench. Now sense the whole body at once. Eyes, Jaw. Diaphragm. Belly. Pelvis. One long connected space. Breathe into all of it. Imagine the breath moving like a wave from the pelvis up to the crown of the head. Back down again. A few more breaths later, Feeling a wave. From the pelvis up to the crown of the head. Back down again. And you may notice some places let go easily. Others stay tight. That's fine. Armour is built slowly and it's softened slowly too. It's there because at some point you needed it, So you can thank it for that. If any feeling has come up as you softened, A bit of sadness or some heat or a tremble, Let it be there. Sometimes when the body lets go, What it was holding gets a chance to move. We'll start to come back now, So let the breath get a little bit fuller. Wiggle the fingers and toes, Maybe stretch in a way that feels good. When you're ready, Roll onto your side and just take a moment. Before you sit up. And one thing you might take into your day is to pick one of those seven places, Whichever part of the body felt tightest, And just check in with it a few times today, Just noticing it, Letting it soften even 10%. Thanks for practicing with me.