Relax!

**money** · Posted On: 1/12/2007 8:50am

"Relax your shoulders! Just relax!"

I hear this a lot. Either when doing sword work, in Karate, or even when getting my picture taken.

I'm not nervous or anything, that's just the way my body is normally. My shoulders naturally hang kind of high and I have to make a mental effort to drop them down. My whole body always feels a little tense, which can be a pain in the ass when doing falls, rolls, etc.

Do you guys have any suggestions for helping me to work toward a more relaxed body?

**Bang!** · Posted On: 1/12/2007 9:09am

I work with people on this issue all the time so here . . .

The main thing to focus on isn't what you do when you're training or working out, it's what you're doing for the other 15 or so hours that you're up. Check your posture: Is your spine straight and extended? Is your chin sunk, or sticking out in front of you? Once you're there, take your shoulders, round them back and let them sink. Feel relaxed? See if there's any more relaxin' you can do. Take note of this. It's context and progression that are going to help you more than any kind of impulse to have everything perfect . . . RIGHT . . . NOW.

Simple, right? Now get into the habit of doing this check every time you think of it. In time, you will begin to do it automatically. You don't need to do anything fancy; you just need to do simple stuff frequently.

One further thing you can do is take a look at your positioning at work. If you're behind a desk most of the time, are you able to type from a good position (shoulders back and symmetrical, elbows down, spine straight and lengthened)? If not, see what you can change.

**pauli** · Posted On: 1/12/2007 9:47am

i'm rather fond of being tense.

**PirateJon** · Posted On: 1/12/2007 10:25am

Yoga is pretty good for this.

**meataxe** · Posted On: 1/14/2007 11:57am

Thanks RM, I just stopped slouching.

***Omega Supreme*** · Posted On: 1/14/2007 12:58pm

Originally Posted by pauli

i'm rather fond of being tense.

Doesn't that hurt!?!?!? Oh never mind they're talking about shoulders....

Along with what monkey boy said try rolling your hips forward.

**alex** · Posted On: 1/14/2007 1:39pm

Originally Posted by noto

Do you guys have any suggestions for helping me to work toward a more relaxed body?

pass it to the left, ************!

**porch** · Posted On: 1/14/2007 8:07pm

Meditation or hypnosis is good. If you can find some kind of hypnotic relaxation tape, it's fairly easy to learn the techniques and then just guide yourself with your "inner voice", so that after a few sessions you no longer need the audio. You'll then find that throughout your day you will catch yourself tensing up and be able to adjust. It's a learned skill that improves with practice. Just make sure that you learn techniques that involve paying attention to your body and breathing, as opposed to dissociating.

Breathing is key to relaxing. When one begins to relax, the breath gets a bit slower and much deeper. The air passageways open up. But it's a circular thing as well - by breathing more deeply and opening up the throat, one begins to relax.

Bear in mind, however, that these occult practices also make one slightly more vulnerable to demonic possession. :5hypnodis