As people release muscular tension, they become more flexible, and their whole way of being and lifestyle can change fundamentally.
It often happens that we do not know how to express anger or fear in a way that does not harm ourselves or others. We may not want to acknowledge these feelings in ourselves or in those close to us, preferring to suppress them. But the body cannot be deceived: what we hide from others and from our own awareness remains in the body as tension. This chronic muscular tension is sometimes called “muscular armour”, and it quietly does its harmful work:
it consumes a great deal of energy, which means a person constantly feels a lack of it;
tense muscles compress blood vessels, and in the areas where muscular armour has formed, the tissues and organs constantly receive too little nutrition and oxygen from the blood. Metabolism is disrupted, which in turn can weaken organs and contribute to various disorders;
the person’s body becomes fragmented.
releasing muscular tension may be achieved through:
building up energy in the body;
direct work on chronic muscular blocks (massage);
expressing the emotions that surface as the blocks are released;
spontaneous movement, dance therapy, relaxation exercises, yoga, qigong, holotropic breathing and other practices;
restoring the natural voice; vocal expression can reduce internal tension.
1. Eyes
Protective armour may appear as immobility of the forehead and an “empty” expression in the eyes, as though they are looking out from behind a rigid mask. Release involves opening the eyes as wide as possible to engage the eyelids and forehead, as well as doing eye exercises.
2. Mouth
A tightly closed mouth blocks the expression of feelings. Yet the mouth is our very first channel of communication. We kiss those to whom we want to express tenderness and love.
When we forbid ourselves from feeling a longing for love because of painful experiences that tell us love can bring only pain and disappointment, this suppression of a natural human need is reflected in tension around the mouth. The same happens when we forbid ourselves from expressing our feelings in words. A clenched mouth can also impair communication, and together these patterns may lead to dissatisfaction with life.
To relax the blocks around the mouth, systematically perform the following exercise.
Lie in the foetal position, on your side, with your knees drawn up and your arms folded across your chest. This position is also described as “curling up into a ball”. Begin making sucking movements with your lips. Continue for as long as you can. Then relax and remain lying down for a little while longer.
While doing this exercise, many people begin to cry. This may happen because a long-suppressed longing for affection and protection rises to the surface and begins to be released. Do not hold it back. Crying with the whole body can help discharge accumulated negative tension not only around the mouth but throughout the body. Children often cry with their whole bodies — from head to toe.
3. Throat and neck
A ring of tension in the throat area may correspond to an unconscious defence against being forced to “swallow” something unpleasant from the outside. At the same time, it can represent an unconscious attempt to maintain control over fear and to protect oneself from feelings and reactions that a person believes others may judge or consider unacceptable.
Clenched jaws block any sound trying to come out. The vocal cords are constrained by the same ring of tension. The voice may sound strained, and it may be difficult to vary its intonation. Sometimes the voice becomes monotonous, sometimes hoarse or raspy, and sometimes unusually high. This may happen because the muscles involved in producing sound become less mobile.
A clenched lower jaw is equivalent to the words “they will not get through”. A person may be unwilling to let unwanted people come close, yet may also be unable to let go of those who still live in their heart. They become closed off and unable to accept the changes that are inevitable in life.
When the body needs more energy, for example when it is tired or sleepy, the mouth needs to open wider for fuller breathing. This is why we yawn. During a yawn, the ring of tension involving the muscles that move the jaw is temporarily released, which affects the mouth, pharynx and throat and opens them widely to let in the necessary air. Therefore, yawning can be used to help relax the jaws.
Open your mouth wide and yawn. Do this in the morning, during the day and in the evening.
Blocks in the jaws may arise from a restrained desire to bite, which on a psychological level can represent restrained impulses of anger.
Take a ball that is moderately firm but still soft. You can also use a dog toy designed for this purpose, or a rolled-up towel. Bite down as hard as you can. At the same time growl and pull the object against your own teeth, but do not loosen your bite. Put all the rage and anger that has accumulated inside you into the action. When you become tired, relax your jaws. At this point the lower jaw will drop and the mouth will remain slightly open.
Here are two more ways to release tension in the lower jaw.
Lower the bottom jaw. Press on the chewing muscles near the angle of the lower jaw. If the muscles are very tense, this may be painful. Regularly press and knead these muscles to encourage relaxation.
Push your chin forward and hold it in this position for 30 seconds. Move the tense jaw to the right and left while keeping it pushed forward. Then open your mouth as wide as possible and notice whether you can open it enough to fit three middle fingers stacked vertically between the teeth.
While doing this exercise, you may feel anxiety or increasing anger. This is considered a useful reaction in this approach. Many people hesitate to release blocked emotions because they are afraid they will not cope with the feelings that emerge. However, expressing feelings under controlled conditions, such as during an exercise, can make the process feel safer. In many people, tension in the chin muscles prevents the mouth from opening fully.
The jaws are described as being energetically connected with the eyes. Tension in the lower jaw is said to reduce the flow of energy to the eyes and diminish visual capacity. The expression “dull eyes” is taken literally in this approach: insufficient nourishment, including that associated with jaw tension, is believed to affect the cornea and make it less shiny. Conversely, chronically holding back tears may contribute to jaw tension. This is why exercises aimed at releasing muscular tension are often accompanied by crying.
A restrained urge to scream from pain or fear may create blocks in the vocal cords. Therefore, one suggested way to release tension in the throat is a loud, prolonged scream.
If you have a place where you can scream at full volume, for example in a forest or at a country house where nobody is nearby, scream. Scream out your suffering, anger and disappointment. There is no need to form words. Let it be a single sound coming forcefully from your throat.
Such a scream often turns into sobbing. In this framework, this is understood as the release of emotions.
However, exercises for the neck and throat alone cannot release every block associated with suppressed emotions. The next band of muscular tension is at chest level.
4. Chest
The chest segment includes the broad chest muscles, shoulder muscles, shoulder blades, rib cage and arms. Laughter, sadness and passion may be held back here. Holding the breath is a means of suppressing emotion. The armour is released through work with breathing.
In many people, the rib cage does not move fully with the breath. Breathing itself may be shallow and rapid, or shallow and irregular. There may be pauses after inhaling or exhaling. Pushing the chest outward can be a form of challenge or defiance, as if the body were saying: “I will not let you come near me.” In others, the rib cage is contracted and never fully expands. In the language of bodily metaphor this means: “I am suppressed and cannot take from life what it offers me.”
Tension in the chest area can disturb breathing. Any difficulty in breathing can also create fear. When a person does not recognise the real source of fear, they may become anxious and begin looking for a cause in the outside world.
To check whether you have breathing difficulties, try the following exercise.
While sitting on a chair, say “A-a-a” in your normal voice while watching the second hand of a clock. If you are unable to sustain the sound for 20 seconds, this approach interprets it as a sign of breathing difficulties.
The muscular ring around the chest can be relaxed with a breathing exercise. This method is named after Lowen, a psychotherapist who developed many techniques of body-oriented therapy. There is a special bench designed for this kind of breathing, but at home Lowen breathing can also be performed as described below.
Lie across a sofa so that your bare feet are on the floor and your buttocks hang slightly over the edge. Place a firm roll under your lower back, for example a tightly rolled cotton blanket, so that the chest is opened as much as possible and the head and upper back are lower than the lower back. Place your arms above your head with the palms facing upward.
Begin to breathe slowly and deeply. Do not breathe rapidly, as that would be a different breathing technique that should only be practised with assistance because side effects may occur. Continue breathing in this way for 30 minutes. If you suddenly begin to cry, sob with your whole body or laugh, do not be alarmed. In this approach, such a reaction is considered a sign that suppressed emotions held in muscular tension are being released. As muscular tension relaxes, energy is believed to be freed and to seek expression. This is why the method advises not to suppress reactions that arise but to allow them to run their course. If you restrain them, they may once again remain unexpressed and recreate muscular tension. You may feel dizzy — lie quietly after the exercise until the dizziness passes. At first you may feel sleepy after doing the exercise; if possible, sleep after completing it. Your sensations or reactions may change. You may experience tingling, twitching or other sensations in the arms, legs or back. You may feel like stamping your feet. Reactions can vary widely. Do not resist them; simply observe them.
Practise this exercise regularly during the period of self-therapy. Over time, according to this approach, you may notice its effects on your breathing and overall sense of tension.
5. Diaphragm
This segment includes the diaphragm, solar plexus, internal organs and spinal muscles at this level. The armour is described as an excessive forward curve of the spine. Exhaling may be more difficult than inhaling, as in bronchial asthma. This muscular block is associated with holding back intense anger. The first four segments are said to need substantial release before working on this one.
If fear becomes chronic, the diaphragm may remain in a constant state of tension, creating breathing problems and a predisposition to fear. This can create a vicious circle: fear produces tension in the diaphragm, while the tension contributes to anxiety.
The diaphragm is located above the waist, which connects the chest with the abdomen and pelvis. Muscular tension in this area is said to interfere with the flow of blood and sensation to the genitals and legs, producing anxiety that in turn affects breathing. The same vicious circle may then continue.
The conclusion drawn in this approach is that chronic tension needs to be relaxed and accumulated fear released.
To check how tense or free your waist is, perform the following exercise.
Do this exercise standing. Place your feet parallel, keep your knees slightly bent, and shift your body weight slightly forward. Raise your arms with bent elbows to shoulder height and let your hands hang loosely. Turn your body as far to the left as possible and remain in that position for about a minute. Then turn to the right and remain there for about a minute. Notice the tension in the muscles of your back and waist. Are you able to breathe into the lower abdomen in this position?
If your breathing becomes restricted, the muscles are very tense or you feel pain, this approach interprets it as a sign of muscular armour around the diaphragm and waist.
For chronic muscular tension around the waist, Lowen breathing, described above, is presented as one of the main methods. It is also suggested that the following exercises be performed regularly.
Lie on your back on the floor with your arms stretched out to the sides, palms up, and legs together. Bend your knees to 90°. Move both legs first to the left so that the lower, left leg lies fully on the floor and the right leg rests on top of it; keep the knees bent. Then turn the legs to the right in the same way. Keep your back, up to the waist, pressed to the floor. Repeat up to 10 times.
Now perform the previous exercise with an added movement. As you turn your legs, turn your head in the opposite direction. Repeat up to 10 times.
Get onto all fours with your knees at 90° and your supporting arms straight. Arch the lower back downward as far as you comfortably can, then round the back upward as much as possible. Perform up to 10 such movements.
Stay on all fours as described above. Slowly slide your straight arms and torso forward along the floor until they are almost fully lowered. The position will resemble a stretching cat. Remain there for a while, then slowly pull your arms back to the starting position. Repeat several times, as much as you comfortably can.
Sit on the floor with your knees slightly bent and your legs a little apart. Place your hands behind your head. Lean your torso to the left, trying to bring your elbow as close to the floor as possible. Stay in this position for a while. Then slowly straighten and repeat on the right side.
Although these exercises are intended to help release tension around the waist, this approach holds that they are not enough to release accumulated impulses of fear. Fear is said to be released through the release of blocked anger. Expressing anger in specific, controlled ways is presented as making it safer because it is discharged rather than stored. A band of tension around the waist is described as disrupting the unity of processes in the body and dividing it into upper and lower parts. In some people the upper body may be well developed while the pelvis and legs appear small and immature. In others the pelvis may be full and rounded while the upper body is small and narrow. The upper half may also be rigid and tense while the lower half is soft and passive. Such body patterns are interpreted as a lack of coordination between “upper” and “lower” feelings.
6. Abdomen
This segment includes the abdominal and back muscles. Tension in the lumbar muscles is associated with fear of attack. Muscular tension at the sides is associated with suppressed anger and hostility. Releasing the armour in this segment is considered relatively straightforward if the upper segments have already been opened.
7. Pelvis
This segment includes all the muscles of the pelvis and lower limbs. The stronger the muscular spasm, the more the pelvis is drawn backward. The gluteal muscles may be tense and painful. Pelvic armour is described as suppressing excitement, anger and pleasure.
