ARE YOU TENSE?

Everyone suffers from tension and tension-related problems at some time. Many people accept this tension and its accompanying problems and resign themselves to living with it. Others try to escape from it taking pills, other drugs or alcohol. Hypochondriacs deal with it by talking about and dwelling on it, insomniacs lie awake with it and others suffer and don’t recognize the problems until serious symptoms develop.

The most common health problem in this county is tension. There are 2 categories of excess tension – mechanical and emotional. Emotional tension is often caused by stress, which we will address in another article.

Mechanical tension is often produced by bad physical habits, poor posture, incorrect body alignment, accidents, injuries and operations.

Here are some of the faulty habits:

• Sitting with tightly crossed legs
• Regularly carrying a heavy briefcase
• Tight fitting shoes
• Carrying a heavy purse
• Wearing high heels
• Wearing tight fitting shoes or clothes

Environmental factors are another major cause of mechanical tension:

• Loud noises
• Crowded places
• Unsafe places
• Driving in traffic

Remember that tension:

• Causes pain, including headaches and back pain.
• Uses up energy; Carrying tension around holds the body tight.
• Restricts movement; range of movement is limited, difficulty in bending, moving less freely.
• Reduces blood circulation; muscles contract around blood vessels then your circulation is less efficient.
• Reduces the ability to breathe deeply; tension in muscles of the chest and spasms in the diaphragm prevent full expansion and contraction of the chest and restrict breathing.

Deep tissue massage can reach into the muscles and release long-standing tension and pain. These movements literally go deep into the muscles, and with the use of intricate finger and hand techniques, a muscle or muscle group can be effectively penetrated to relieve tension and can increase localized blood circulation.

When layers of tension have been removed through deep tissue massage, results are usually:

• You are more aware of your body
• Improved blood circulation
• Heal faster
• Feel more energetic
• Move with greater ease and freedom
• No longer feel pain when pressure is applied to muscles
• Lose weight more easily
• Generally feel better

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