Welcome to this practice to help you release tension.
Tension can be found anywhere in the body.
Our most familiar places may be things like the head,
Our temples,
Our foreheads,
Our eyes,
Our jaw,
Neck and shoulders.
We also hold a fair amount of tension in our torso.
Sometimes we can be so tight that we're constantly squeezing our stomach,
Our intestines and that can lead to a lot of discomfort.
So this practice is a little unusual because I'm going to ask you to create some more tension.
But what we're doing is creating that tension and then releasing it so that the body gets that little nudge to say,
Hey,
That felt good didn't it?
Maybe you could release some more tension somewhere else.
And particularly since we aren't always aware of exactly where our tension is stored,
We do need the body to take care of some of this for us.
Now let's take a hand,
Rest it lightly on our belly,
Around the navel,
The belly button and feel what it's like to breathe into that hand.
So intentionally pushing out the belly into the hand and feeling it contract again on the out-breath.
If we can breathe into that hand,
We are breathing at almost full capacity.
Let the hand rest in your lap or on your legs.
Continue to notice what it's like to breathe.
And now we put the tension into the body for the first time.
Take your left hand wherever it's resting and close it into a fist.
Once you have a fist,
Tighten it as much as you can without hurting yourself.
You might feel the tension running up the left forearm and upper arm a bit.
But I'd also like you to now notice what it's like to breathe into the torso like we were earlier.
Has anything changed for you?
Chances are there's a little bit less capacity,
Particularly on the left side.
And release.
And enjoy what must feel like a bit of a relief,
Having tensed up some of the body,
Having made it harder to breathe.
Sometimes the body will take a big breath in.
Wherever your right hand is resting,
Let's close that into a fist.
Tighten it to the best of your abilities.
Know your own body.
Maybe put some extra tension into the forearm and upper arm.
And again,
Notice what it's like in the torso as we breathe.
Your tension might now be on the right side,
The part closest to the arm and the fist that we're tensing.
Release.
Enjoy a few of those breaths at full capacity.
And then we're going to close both hands into fists at the same time.
Really put oomph into tensing your forearms,
Your upper arms,
Pressing your arms against the sides of your body.
And again,
Place your awareness at the torso.
Feel what it's like to breathe,
Feel what's changed.
And when you next breathe out,
Release.
And you may find that the body naturally takes a nice big,
Deep breath.
And that's all I'm going to get you to do for the next 10 or 15 seconds.
Breathe to the fullest of your capacity now that we've released the tension in our arms,
In our hands.
What we often find is that by going through this process,
The body takes our hint and releases some pressure,
Releases some tension elsewhere.
And with our body less tense,
Our mind may be less tense.
Our heart may be less heavy.
So with me,
Enjoying one last deep breath in.
And if you're in a private place,
Allowing this to be an audible exhale.
Shake out your hands,
Shake out your arms,
And you can carry on with your day.
