What drugs relieve psychological pressures? Technique for removing internal clamps

It is important to learn how to recognize and get rid of psychological stress in time. Mild tension can arise throughout the day, and if it is not removed, it will gradually develop into increased anxiety, and then into neurosis. It is worth remembering that the faster you try to solve problems, the higher the likelihood of depression or stress.

Sometimes at the end of the day we feel aching pain in our muscles, we cannot straighten up or turn our head. The reason for this is the “muscular shell” - this is what Wilhelm Reich called muscle spasm, who was the first to notice the connection between stress and the body’s reaction to it. He associated this with a person’s habit of keeping everything to himself and the inability to express emotions. All this leads to the fact that any psychological problem will be reflected in the body as a muscle block.

Exercises to relieve muscle tension and stress

We present to you 6 exercises aimed at removing these blocks. Completing them will not take you much time, and the results will not be long in coming.

1. If your middle back and lower back hurt

Constant tension and tightness of the back muscles can lead to various diseases: osteochondrosis, muscle blockade of discs, intervertebral hernias, spinal curvature.

Also compressed vertebrae can cause heart pain, headaches and dizziness, blurred vision.

How to relieve back tension

This exercise will help you relieve pain in your back muscles.

1. Stand up straight. Raise your hands up and then place them behind your head.

2. Lean back. The back should take the shape of an arch.

3. Return to the starting position.

4. Repeat 5 times.

2. For neck and upper back pain

Most likely, you are sitting at your computer while reading this article. Assess whether your neck is in the correct position:

shoulders should not be raised up;

the trapezius should not be tense.

Tension in the trapezius often occurs due to stress and fatigue, a habit of slouching, or persistently raised shoulders.

How to get rid of neck and shoulder pain

The neck is the part of the body that usually reacts first to stress. Tension in it negatively affects the functioning of blood vessels and nerves. The brain receives less essential oxygen and nutrients, and muscles weaken.

To prevent this from happening, do the following:

1. Stand straight with your feet shoulder-width apart.

2. Place your hands on your waist and tilt your head forward and then move it back.

3. Repeat 8 times.

How to remove clamps from neck and shoulders

This is fraught with myositis - inflammation of muscle tissue.

1. Straighten up, put your hands behind your head. Factors that provoke pain in the trapezius muscle can be hypothermia, insufficient warming up before training, performing monotonous movements, wearing heavy bags and backpacks. E

2. Tilt your neck to the right, then to the left.

3. If it’s hard, help yourself with your hands: this will increase muscle stretching.

4. Stay in the “down” position for 10 seconds while bending to each side.

3. With facial clamps

Sometimes the head and facial muscles also suffer from stress.

You may not feel muscle tension on your face. But it is quite easy to detect it in yourself. The most obvious evidence of a “muscular shell” is a frozen grimace.

Also, carefully examine yourself in front of the mirror, run your fingers over your face: areas where you feel tension clearly require relaxation. A tightness in the forehead can lead to migraines, increased intracranial pressure, around the eyes - to swelling and dark circles, fatigue, in the jaw - to problems with teeth and spasm of blood vessels that nourish the skin of the face.

How to relieve tension in facial muscles

1. Stand up straight. Place your hands behind your head, without intertwining your fingers.

2. Turn your head from side to side.

3. If you feel discomfort, gently help yourself with your hands.

4. Do 4 repetitions on each side.

5. After completing the exercise, gently massage your facial skin with your fingers.

4. For tension and pain throughout the body

Pinched back muscles have a negative impact on the spine, in especially severe cases this can lead to curvature. By shifting, the vertebrae compress the neurons coming from the spinal cord, which can cause pain in any organs. In addition, compression of blood vessels is fraught with tissue swelling and pain in the body.

How to relieve physical tension

This exercise will reduce stress on the psoas, lower back and abdominal muscles.

1. Stand up straight. Place your hands behind your head.

2. Tilt your body to the right. At the same time, extend your left hand to the right side.

3. Return to the starting position and then perform the exercise in mirror image.

4. Repeat 4 bends in each direction.

5. To get rid of psychological stress

It is important to learn how to recognize and get rid of psychological stress in time. Mild tension can arise throughout the day, and if it is not removed, it will gradually develop into increased anxiety, and then into neurosis.

It is worth remembering that the faster you try to solve problems, the higher the likelihood of depression or stress. If you often find yourself repeating the same thoughts, try the following exercise.

How to relieve psychological stress

This universal exercise is intended for people who constantly experience emotional discomfort and physical fatigue.

1. Choose a calm and quiet place. It is best if it is a well-ventilated area. The exercise can be performed standing or sitting.

2. Stand up straight with your feet together. Close your eyes and relax them, breathe calmly. Keep your head straight, in a natural position, without tension. Place your arms freely along your body. When performing the exercise while sitting, place your hands on your legs.

3. As you move your shoulders back and down, make a movement as if you were throwing something off your shoulders. Then transfer the weight of your torso to your pelvis. Try to relax and feel the strength of the muscles in your legs.

4. Find balance. You will succeed when all the tension is gone. Be relaxed and do not make unnecessary movements. Try to stay in this position for 5 minutes.

5. While doing the exercise, try not to think about anything.

After the time has passed, lightly massage your face, neck and décolleté.

As you can see, these exercises are easy to do. They can easily be done at the workplace. published.

Illustrations: Daniil Shubin

If you have any questions, please ask

P.S. And remember, just by changing your consumption, we are changing the world together! © econet

Muscle tension (spasms) are chronic muscle tension. What causes this disease? Clamps can be caused by injuries, awkward posture, or poor posture. But often the pathology has deeper causes.

Causes of this pathology

Many people are unable to express anger, heartache and fear. Any emotional problems are reflected in the body in the form of muscle blocks. Thus, prolonged experience of anxiety leads to tension in the neck muscles. Such people will be unnatural and tense, they will get tired quickly, have difficulty communicating, and they will be uncomfortable in their own skin.

The very concept of muscle clamps and blocks owes its appearance largely to W. Reich, who was a follower of Freud. He complemented his views and for the first time drew the attention of psychoanalysts to the human body.

Reich noted that personality traits can be reflected in certain postures and muscle tension. He began to interact with the relaxation of such a “muscular shell” (as he called muscle clamps). The doctor discovered that relaxing the clamp released a large amount of energy along with repressed emotions, as well as memories of various events that caused these emotions.

He found that chronic muscle tension blocks three basic emotions, namely anger, fear and sexual arousal. The scientist came to the conclusion that the psychological and muscular armor are simply one and the same thing.

People get used to living in such a shell and don’t even notice that their muscles are constantly tense. Many people believe that if muscles are constantly toned, this means that they are trained and strong. But in reality, tight tissues are very weak muscles. Thus, we are talking about an unhealthy type of tension that contributes to the development of problems in the form of headaches, tension, mandibular joint syndrome, back and neck discomfort, breathing problems, vascular dystonia, problems with the cardiac and vascular system, etc.

Manifestations of clamps

How do muscle tension manifest itself?

Staying in constant tension negatively affects the body, leading to very rapid fatigue, and, in addition, to depression, anxiety, depression and the like. As a rule, people spend a lot of energy on support. In this regard, a person regularly lacks strength and vigor.

Tight muscles can also block blood circulation. Because of this, absolutely all internal organs, along with the muscles and spine, do not receive enough nutritional components and oxygen, at the same time a stagnant and degenerative process occurs, all kinds of chronic diseases develop, and the like.

In addition, muscle tension is a sign that a person does not cope well with his emotions. This largely disrupts the individual’s relationships with people around him, causing increased sensitivity to stress and any conflict.

How can you detect a clamp?

If there are no obvious symptoms such as chronic pain, then you need to examine your own body yourself or with the help of a relative. To do this, you need to go through all muscle groups with your fingers, pressing hard on them. If the pressure is accompanied by severe pain or a tickling sensation, then most likely you have found a muscle clamp.

Why is this pathology dangerous?

If the muscle tension is not dealt with in time, then as a result of many years of tension, the tissues become petrified, and blood along with nutrients practically stops flowing to them. Thus, over time, the muscle begins to break down.

Let's find out how to remove muscle clamps and blocks.

Treatment: how can you loosen the clamp?

It seems that tension can be treated through sports. But not always sports training can eliminate them. Active loads on tense muscles are even contraindicated. To remove the tension, the muscles need to be loaded with low intensity.

The same applies to sports yoga. Performing all kinds of yoga asanas in a mechanical and conventional mode does not help eliminate tension. Many people who have been practicing yoga for many years have not been able to get rid of muscle tension.

Awareness is the first step

In order to rid yourself of the muscular shell, you first need to recognize its presence. This is facilitated by alternately relaxing and tensing the muscles, along with special gymnastics for individual areas of the body and the practice of bodily awareness. Next you need to relax the tense muscles. In this case, static exercises that are aimed at tension followed by stretching and relaxation (for example, post-isometric relaxation) help. It is advisable to carry out deep work with breathing, mudras and bandhas.

It is important to reduce the level of stress and anxiety, since it is the prohibitive amount of emotional stress that leads to the formation of tension. This is facilitated by meditation and deep relaxation techniques (we are talking, for example, about shavasana, yoga nidra, auto-training, visualization, and so on). You should also remember that this illness is associated with emotional problems. In this regard, relaxing muscle tension is required in conjunction with careful internal work on emotions.

Sometimes, after deep work with a clamp, one or another person may experience an attack of extremely negative emotions in the form of fear, anger or melancholy. Among other things, relaxed muscles can quickly tighten again. This means that a person’s psychological problems are much deeper than it seems at first glance. They form new spasms, since the person is still unable to express his emotions and continues to clamp them in the body. An experienced psychotherapist will certainly help the patient cope with the internal causes of such clamps.

The body, free from muscle tension, is flexible and attractive. Energy is no longer wasted on maintaining tension, and the person again becomes completely relaxed, healthy, energetic and naturally expresses his emotions. Now let's move on to exercises that help relieve muscle tension.

Basic exercises to help you relax

To perform such exercises, a person should lie on his back (in savasana).

• Performing the “Relax-Tension” exercise. Focus your attention on your right hand and make a fist. They strain their hand to the limit. After five to ten seconds, release the tension and relax your hand as much as possible. Realize the difference between relaxation and tension. Then do the same with the other hand. This exercise is also performed on the legs, lower back and neck. What else needs to be done to relax muscle tension?
• Performing the exercise “Tension in a circle.” Strain your right arm to the limit. Gradually relax it, and then completely transfer the tension to the other hand. Next, gradually relax the left hand, completely transferring the tension to the right leg. You can repeat this exercise to relieve muscle tension several times.
• Performing the “Habitual Clamp” exercise. Listen to the sensations of your body. Next, they remember their standard voltage (we are talking about their usual clamp). Gradually tense the body in this area, bringing the clamp to the absolute limit, and release it after five to ten seconds, while trying to achieve the maximum possible relaxation. You need to recognize the difference between relaxation and tension. You can repeat this exercise several times.

Massage

In addition to exercises, you can self-massage the neck muscles. The main thing is not to rush and not to push too hard. Before the procedure, your hands should be warmed and lubricated with any massage oil so as not to rub the skin.

You need to start with light stroking movements with your hands from top to bottom, from the back of the head to the back and from the middle of the back to the shoulders. When the muscles are warmed up, you can slowly knead and press them with your fingers, moving from top to bottom and from the center to the periphery.

You can also entrust the massage to a professional. Just 10 sessions will relieve muscle tension.

Psychosomatics of muscle tension

Modern psychologists believe that all experiences, along with emotions and fears, affect not just the human psyche, but also his body. If any situation causes fear reactions in the soul, this means that muscle tension appears somewhere in the human body. Often, in response to fears, muscle tension appears in the collar area (the head seems to be pressed into the shoulders), and it can also occur in the area of ​​the diaphragm (then people stop breathing). Sometimes tension forms in the muscles around the eyes (in this case, one can say that the person’s eyes are glazed over). Tension is also often found in the hands (in this case, people’s hands tremble).

The psychosomatics of muscle tension is incomprehensible to many, but it should not be ignored.

Storage of panic emotions

When fear reactions are repeated or last (sometimes this can stretch for hours, years and days), then muscle tension can turn into a clamp, which becomes, as it were, a repository of panic emotions. When muscle tension based on a pattern of fear is formed in a person, people begin to feel panic even when absolutely nothing of the kind is happening around them.

Body memory

Against the background of all this, a body memory seems to be triggered in people, forming a general feeling of anxiety and a feeling of fear when something similar to a dangerous situation arises nearby. And in a situation in which a person with a healthy body will not be afraid (or the feeling of fear will be weak, but at the same time easily overcome), a person with a severe clamp will be truly afraid, sometimes even to the point of nausea and absolute paralysis of the body.

Muscle tension in the neck and back

The most common causes of neck and back pain are chronically tense muscles. Against this background, chronic tension, as a rule, is a direct consequence of misaligned vertebrae, which impinge on the nerves. When muscles remain tight, several events occur that lead to chronic pain. Firstly, the muscles may begin to work much harder than normal. People notice this when they clench a previously relaxed hand into a fist. All such extra efforts lead to the process of leaching useful chemical elements from the muscles.

If a person holds his fist tightly clenched for some time, he may find that he is simply bleeding. The fact is that with muscle tension in the neck, blood is squeezed out of the capillaries and arteries of the muscle area. Thus, the following scheme for the formation of such pain is noted: tense muscles are directly related to the formation of waste products, and the blood flow is not enough to remove them.

The buildup of waste can begin to irritate the muscles, causing pain. When the brain receives pain signals, it increases muscle tension in this area. All of this can further reduce blood flow and increase pain. If this situation continues, this area of ​​the body will hurt constantly.

Sometimes people lead themselves to the formation of such constricted zones in their body, but as long as this is not too pronounced, no discomfort arises. And then a person experiences stress, which creates additional muscle tension, which itself causes pain. Once you relax, the pain will immediately stop, but this area of ​​the body will still remain tense and tight. Thus, with each subsequent stress, new pain will occur.

Muscle tension and blocks are the most unpleasant phenomena from which some people suffer. At these moments they experience significant discomfort, and in advanced situations almost unbearable pain is possible.

When faced with such situations, people try to massage the sore areas, rub with warming ointments, use painkillers, but all this does not help. More precisely, there is an effect, but it is short-lived and after a short period everything returns. To overcome a neuromuscular block forever, you need to identify its true cause and learn how to deal with it correctly.

Muscle tension - what is it?

There are many reasons for neuromuscular block, but to understand them? I need to find out what kind of violation this is? Essentially, a muscle block or muscle carapace is the tension of a certain muscle or an entire group that does not relax even at rest.

Often this muscle becomes hypertrophied and blood passes through it with difficulty. Accordingly, operating efficiency decreases. In addition, the tight muscle hardens and disrupts the normal functioning of the entire body. With any mobility, severe pain may occur.

It is noteworthy, but when a muscle block holds a certain limb or part of the body, people are in no hurry to see a doctor. They try to find the cause of the problem themselves, gradually getting used to the unpleasant sensations and continuing to live with muscle tension. This state of affairs leads to various disorders and diseases:
phlebeurysm;
compression of internal organs; flat feet;
curvature of the spinal column.

What can cause muscle tension?

You will be amazed to learn about the real causes of muscle tension. One of them is related to psychosomatics. The theory was first considered by Wolf Messing's student and psychologist Wilhelm Reich, who founded the school of psychoanalysis.

The human body is a mirror of psychological disorders. Based on this, Reich concluded that each psychological disorder leaves certain marks on the body, which are manifested by muscle stiffness.

If we simplify all this, we get the following picture: if you do not know how to manage emotions and restrain them without showing them to others, a person is forced to suppress them. This leads to chronic overstrain of individual muscle groups. In this regard, over time, muscle tension will arise, acting as a protective reaction to unpleasant sensations.

Feelings, emotions and worldview influence the physical body, health and well-being. The body, like a mirror, reflects our psycho-emotional state. We carry out self-diagnosis and identify areas of muscle tension and energy blocks. After all, by eliminating the causes, you can cope with the consequences.

The reason for increased muscle tension in people is constant mental and emotional stress. Conduct a self-diagnosis... Reflect, the mind and body are a single whole, each character trait of a person has a corresponding physical posture.

Character is expressed in the body in the form of muscular rigidity (excessive muscle tension, from the Latin rigidus - hard) or muscular armor.

Chronic tension blocks the energy flows that underlie strong emotions;

Blocked emotions cannot be expressed and form specific clusters of memories with a strong emotional charge of the same quality, which contain condensed experiences and associated fantasies from different periods of a person’s life.

Removing muscle tension releases significant energy, which manifests itself in the form of feelings of warmth or cold, tingling, itching or emotional uplift. Goal-seeking is the state of modern man.

Imposed ideals of material well-being and comfort, the conditions for achieving them, and a focus on the final result rather than on life in the present moment keep people in constant tension. Hence muscle tension > spasm of blood vessels > first-degree hypertension, osteochondrosis, peptic ulcer and much more.

Everything else is secondary reasons.

The function of the muscle shell is to protect against displeasure. However, the body pays for this protection by reducing its capacity for pleasure.

The muscular shell is formed into seven conventional segments, consisting of muscles and organs. These segments are located in the eyes, mouth, neck, chest, diaphragm, abdomen and pelvis.

Elimination of muscle tension is achieved through:

Accumulation of energy in the body;

Direct impact on chronic muscle blocks (massage);

Expression of released emotions, which are revealed at the same time;

Spontaneous movements, dance therapy, relaxation exercises, yoga, qigong, holotropic breathing, etc.

1. Eyes. The protective armor is manifested in the immobility of the forehead and the “empty” expression of the eyes, which seem to be looking from behind a motionless mask. Blooming is accomplished by opening the eyes as wide as possible to involve the eyelids and forehead; gymnastics for the eyes.

2. Mouth. This segment includes muscle groups of the chin, throat and back of the head. The jaw can be either too clenched or unnaturally relaxed. The segment holds the expression of crying, screaming, anger. You can relieve muscle tension by simulating crying, moving your lips, biting, grimacing, and massaging the muscles of your forehead and face.

3. Neck. Includes deep neck muscles and tongue. The muscle block mainly holds anger, screaming and crying. Direct impact on the muscles deep in the neck is impossible, so screaming, singing, gagging, sticking out the tongue, bending and rotating the head, etc. can eliminate muscle tension.

4. Thoracic segment: broad muscles of the chest, muscles of the shoulders, shoulder blades, chest and arms. Laughter, sadness, passion are suppressed. Holding your breath is a means of suppressing any emotion. The shell dissolves by working on breathing, especially by fully exhaling.

5. Diaphragm. This segment includes the diaphragm, solar plexus, internal organs, and muscles of the vertebrae at this level. The shell is expressed in the forward arching of the spine. Exhalation turns out to be more difficult than inhalation (as with bronchial asthma). The muscle block holds strong anger. You need to pretty much dissolve the first four segments before moving on to dissolving this one.

6. Belly. Abdominal muscles and back muscles. Tension of the lumbar muscles is associated with the fear of attack. Muscle tension on the sides is associated with the suppression of anger and hostility. The opening of the shell in this segment is relatively easy if the upper segments are already open.

7. Taz. The last segment includes all the muscles of the pelvis and lower extremities. The stronger the muscle spasm, the more the pelvis is pulled back. The gluteal muscles are tense and painful. The pelvic shell serves to suppress excitement, anger, and pleasure.

Sectors of muscle clamps:

NECK AREA The neck is a very important area, a kind of barrier and bridge between the conscious (head) and the unconscious (body). The rationality inherent in Western culture sometimes causes us to rely too much on our own reason. According to studies that have studied how people perceive their body, the size of the head in the internal representation occupies on average 40-60% of the body size (while objectively, anatomically, it is about 12%).

This “distortion” is caused by excessive mental activity, incessant “mental chatter,” which gives the feeling that the head is full and it is impossible to either recover or relax. In this case, the texts generated by the head “do not reach” the body, and the body is simply ignored by consciousness - a situation of “separateness” arises, a kind of “Professor Dowell’s head”. In this case, it is important to focus the client's attention on the signals given by the body so that thoughts are associated with sensations.

There is also a reverse version of the “neck barrier”: sensations in the body exist, and are quite vivid, but they are not interpreted and do not reach the level of awareness. This situation is characterized by various pains of psychosomatic origin, paresthesia, etc., the causes of which the person does not understand.

THROAT ZONE Localized in the area of ​​the jugular notch and associated with blocking emotions. This reflects problems of interaction with other people (communication) or with oneself (authenticity). Such a block can arise if a person finds himself in a situation where it is impossible to admit to himself some unpleasant truth or do something that threatens to violate his identity (“if I do this, it won’t be me”).

This zone also reflects the impossibility, the ban on realizing some important truths (that is, the ban on uttering a significant text or the ban on certain actions: “if I say/do this, it won’t be me”). Long-term problems in this area threaten the development of thyroid diseases, asthma, and bronchopulmonary disorders.

MIDDLE OF THE STERNAL BONE This area is located behind the protruding bone of the sternum, below the jugular notch, and the area of ​​offense is localized in it. Subjectively, the sensations here can be perceived as a lump, a ball, a clot, a “stone on the heart.” In this case, the pericardial channel actually becomes overloaded and cardiac disorders occur. A person with such a problem is also characterized by a specific facial expression - pronounced nasolabial folds, drooping corners of the lips - all this adds up to a mask of distrust of the world and resentment.

CENTER OF THE CHEST According to Eastern tradition, in the middle of the chest at the level of the heart is the heart chakra, anahata - the center of love and emotional openness to the world. If there is no place for love in a person’s life, then another basic feeling arises - melancholy, which causes a pulling, sucking sensation in this area. Clients may also describe it as the presence of a callous, compressed, cold, dark “substance.” Damage to this zone, as a rule, is associated with large-scale psychological trauma received in childhood - primarily with the coldness of parents, child abandonment, etc.

DIAPHRAGMAL ZONE Involves the zone of the diaphragmatic muscles and the epigastric region. In body-oriented therapy, this area is associated with blocking, prohibiting the expression of any emotions - both good and bad. This is also where fears of financial ill-being and social maladaptation are rooted. When working with this area, you may feel pulled in even with a voluminous abdomen. The tension here is similar to the feeling after a blow to the gut - breathing becomes less deep, emotions, crying, laughter are “frozen”.

The body’s protective reaction to the formation of a clamp (which is associated with stagnation of blood, lymph, etc.) is often the formation of a fat pad. Psychosomatic stomach ulcers, liver problems (in China, the liver was considered a source of anger), and gall bladder problems also often occur. Clamping in the diaphragmatic zone is typical for people who strive to control everything and keep everything to themselves. Typical expressions for them are “I can’t allow myself to do this”, “you have to pay for all the pleasures”, etc. Also, such people strive to constantly discuss what is happening, generate mental constructs, and see life through the prism of schemes.

UMBILICAL ZONE This is a zone of fear that corresponds to the so-called “Reich's belt,” which also includes the projection of the kidneys. The Chinese called the kidneys the “graveyard of emotions” and the source of cold. After working in this area (and long “squeezing” movements are used here), the client can feel a redistribution of cold throughout the body.

PELVIC CLAMP From the back this is the area of ​​the sacrum, buttocks, iliac crests, from the front - the lower abdomen and inner thighs. Reich associated pelvic constriction with blocked sexuality. If, as a result of sexual life, deep discharge does not occur, giving a feeling of integrity, then deep spasticity, fat, and congestion in the pelvic area are observed.

In the presence of a pelvic clamp, many techniques for working with fat deposits are ineffective, since, as already mentioned, they are formed as a protective reaction of the body. Forehead clamp - (neurosthenic helmet), with constant, prolonged stress, general fatigue.

Jaw clamp - jaws tighten (aggression)

Neck area – degitality – concentration of sensations, ambivalence, duality.

Chest clamp - Bronchitis, asthma, conflict zone between want and need.

The middle of the chest is the area of ​​offense.

Diaphragmatic clamp – blocks emotions (keeps everything inside, zone of psychosis).

Fear Zone – Fear affects the kidneys and bladder.

Pelvic clamp – Lower abdomen, gluteal muscles.

What are blocks in the body and how are they formed?
The nature of blocks is also dual, like our human nature. To understand it more deeply, imagine the flow of energy in your body like the flow of a river, with its bends and widening bed. Constrictions, congestions, broken dams on it will correspond to injuries, illnesses, conflicts that impede the flow of healthy energy, which need to be cleared - and this is one side of the blocks.
On the other hand, a river has its own banks, gentle slopes, and sometimes harsh rocks that force it to flow in a certain direction. Here the blocks act as massive barriers that direct the flow of energy, restrain it, and prevent it from overflowing its banks. Clearly they have power! This is another property of blocks - we need these restrictions until a certain time, because they guide our movement through life.

• From a psychological point of view, a block is a stable tension in the body, behind which there is an actual human problem;

• from the point of view of functional anatomy, a block is a state of tissue characterized by its shortening, increased density and rigidity;

• from a chiropractic point of view, a block is a partial or complete restriction of mobility in a motion segment or joint;

• from the point of view of bioenergy, a block is the encapsulation of a certain part of energy in a certain part of the body.

Nothing passes without a trace in a person's life. Resentment, betrayal, disappointment or any other negative event leaves a mark that manifests itself as a tense zone in our body.

How blocks arise in the human body
When a person experiences psychological stress or various emotions (negative, positive, sexual), his body tenses. If such feelings are of a conscious nature, and a person gives them an outlet, expresses them, and the emotions are followed by a corresponding reaction or action, then the tension in the body is relieved.

In the case when a person restrains himself and does not give vent to his feelings, and the tension is not followed by any release, then it remains in the body. It may also happen that the emotions were not fully released, and the tension was partially relieved. As a result, blocks arise in the human body.

The body does not contract by chance; muscles are grouped in order to respond to an external shock. After compression, stress must be reflected in all possible ways - physically, psychologically and energetically.

It should be taken into account that the most energy-consuming way of responding to stress is protection at the psychological level, and the least energy-consuming way is reflex protection (at the level of reflexes, conditioned or unconditioned).

To respond, energy is stored in certain parts of the body, for example, in the hand to strike. And if it is not followed, then the energy remains concentrated in this area of ​​the body, and this causes uncomfortable and painful sensations.

The block formed due to blockage of energy remains in the human body for a long time. You can remove it either by completing the action and releasing energy, or with the help of therapy, or the block will be removed on its own when the problem ceases to be relevant after a very long time.

When a person develops spiritually, he is able to reassess the events of his past and remove blocks that were caused by stress, and this entails positive changes at the physiological level. If spiritual degradation of the personality occurs, then the negative processes in the body caused by blocks become chronic.

How blocks evolve in the human body
At first, the block in the body is perceived by the body as something foreign. In this case, the person feels unpleasant, uncomfortable and painful sensations. We are able to accurately distinguish the boundaries of the block and therefore often associate such pain with a foreign object inside us, for example, a stone or a knife.

Over time, the state of the block changes, and it becomes invisible to humans. This usually occurs after the event that caused it to appear loses its relevance or addiction occurs.

A person can get used to insults, humiliation, insults and other intolerable personal situations, accumulating more and more blocks in his body. The causes of blocks can also be fear or a negative character trait that a person does not fight, believing that it cannot be changed, or getting used to it.

Having suffered a psychological shock and getting used to the block, a person develops certain beliefs and attitudes towards the world around him, and this affects his entire future life, and the blocks become an integral part of his personality.

It is also worth noting that blocks rarely settle alone, and if one appears, then others will appear, and together they form a network of blocks, which becomes the basis of a given personality.

Blocks in the human body do not appear in random places, but only in those where the energy was directly blocked. For example, if a person has restrained the desire to speak out, then the energy becomes stuck in the larynx, lips and cheekbones, causing unpleasant sensations in these areas. If he suppressed sobs, then the energy will gather in the forehead, eyes and compress the chest. If a person takes up a task that he wanted to give up, he experiences aching pain in his shoulders and stomach.

By holding back emotions and experiences, a person creates blocks within himself. And when he finds himself in a similar situation, he behaves in the same way, and new blocks are layered on top of each other.

Most often, we do not know how to express anger or fear in a way that does not harm ourselves or people; we do not want to know about these feelings, preferring to suppress them. The body cannot be deceived; what we hide from others and our consciousness remains in it in the form of tension. This chronic tension of the body's muscles is called "muscle armor." Gradually it ceases to be noticed, and a person lives without even knowing about it. These exercises help relax muscle tension.

When we express emotions, the resource prepared by the body is used in a timely manner and the muscles relax. But most often we do not know how to express anger or fear in a way that does not harm ourselves or others; we don’t want to know about these feelings and the feelings of our loved ones, preferring to suppress them.

The muscular shell quietly does its evil deed:

• he spends a large amount of energy, which means that a person constantly experiences a lack of it;
• tense muscles compress blood vessels, and in those places where the muscular shell is located, organ tissues constantly lack nutrients and oxygen carried by the blood, metabolism is disrupted, which, in turn, leads to weakening of organs and various diseases;
• the human body becomes split.

A person charged with energy radiates cheerfulness, he is less sensitive to climate changes, and does not depend on weather conditions. A person who experiences an energy deficit necessarily reacts to rain, pressure changes, and changes in the length of daylight hours. It is known that people prone to depression feel worst in winter and early spring, when even a strong body is somewhat depleted.

Unproductive energy expenditure to maintain the muscular shell leads to the fact that a person unconsciously strives to save energy. To do this, he reduces his communication and fences himself off from the outside world.

Movement, posture, characteristic facial expression - all this is developed gradually as a result of the most commonly used combination of muscle tension and relaxation, which has become habitual. All this expresses our basic life positions, thoughts, attitudes, expectations and beliefs, which, in turn, cause a certain emotional state.

The following exercises help relax muscle tension and can be done independently. However, they won't help if you only do them a few times. Make it a rule to do them daily and devote at least half an hour to them. Of course, you don't have to do everything at once. Do them several times first. Then set for yourself the sequence in which you will do them, and master them one by one. Later you will understand which activities give the greatest effect and are more necessary for you.

Let's start with the top ring of clamps that goes through the mouth and throat.

1. Mouth
A clenched mouth blocks all transmission of feelings. But the mouth is the very first channel of communication. We kiss those to whom we want to express our tenderness and love.

When we forbid ourselves to feel longing for love, relying on sad experience that tells us that love can only bring pain and disappointment, this withholding of the natural human need is reflected in the clamping of the mouth area. The same thing happens when we forbid ourselves to express our feelings in words. A clenched mouth also leads to impaired communication, and all together leads to dissatisfaction with life.

To relax the blocks around the mouth, you need to systematically perform the following exercise.

Lie in the fetal position, that is, lying on your side, pull up your knees, fold your arms, crossing them over your chest. This pose is also referred to as “curling up.” Start making sucking movements with your lips. Do this for as long as possible - as long as your lips can suck. After this, relax and lie down a little longer.

Many people start crying while doing this exercise. This happens because a long-suppressed longing for affection and security begins to emerge. Don't hold back under any circumstances. Crying with your whole body is beneficial. It helps relieve accumulated negative tension not only around the mouth, but throughout the body. Children always cry completely - from head to toe. Then they are taught to restrain themselves.

2. Jaws, throat and vocal cords
The ring of tension in the throat corresponds to an unconscious defense against the forced “swallowing” of something unpleasant from the outside. At the same time, this is an unconscious preservation of control over the feeling of fear, protection from those feelings and reactions that, in the opinion of a person, may be condemned and unacceptable to others.

Clenched jaws block any sound trying to break through. The vocal cords are also clamped with the same ring. The sound of the voice gives the impression that the person is speaking tensely; it is difficult for him to give the sound different intonations. Sometimes the voice becomes monotonous, sometimes hoarse or hoarse, and sometimes too high-pitched. This happens because the muscles involved in sound production become inactive.

A clenched lower jaw is equivalent to saying “they won’t pass.” It’s as if a person doesn’t want to let unwanted people in, but he also doesn’t want to let go of those who live in his soul. He is closed and cannot accept the changes that are inevitable in life.

When the body needs more energy, such as when it is tired or sleepy, the mouth should be opened wide to allow fuller breathing. This is why we yawn. When yawning, a ring of tension that involves the muscles that move the jaw is temporarily released, and this acts on the mouth, pharynx and throat, opening them wide to allow the required air to pass through. Therefore, to relax your jaws, you need to yawn.

Open your mouth wide and yawn. Do this morning, afternoon and evening.

Blocks in the jaws arise from a suppressed desire to bite, which on a psychological level means suppressing impulses of anger.

Take a moderately elastic and moderately soft ball. You can use dog toys specially designed for this purpose. You can take a rolled up towel. Bite with all your might. At the same time, growl, tear the toy out of your own teeth, but do not weaken your bite. Put all the rage, all the anger that has gathered in your soul into this process. When you get tired, relax your jaw. At this time, the lower jaw will drop and the mouth will be slightly open.

Here are two more ways to relieve tension in the lower jaw:

1. Lower your lower jaw. Press on the chewing muscles at the angle of the lower jaw. If the muscles are very tense, it can be painful. Regularly squeeze and squeeze these muscles, which helps to relax them.

2. Move your chin forward and hold it in this position for 30 seconds. Move your tense jaw to the right, left, keeping it extended forward. Then open your mouth as wide as possible and see if you can open it enough to fit the three middle fingers of your palm one above the other between your teeth.

You may feel anxious or increasingly angry while doing this exercise. This is good. Many people hesitate to unblock their emotions for fear of not being able to cope with the surging feelings. But it is the release of feelings in special conditions (for example, when performing an exercise) that makes this process safe and very useful. For many people, tension in the chin muscles prevents them from opening their mouth wide.

The jaws are energetically connected to the eyes. Tension in the lower jaw reduces the flow of energy to the eyes and reduces visual capabilities. The expression "dull eyes" has a literal meaning: lack of nutrients, particularly due to blockages in the jaw, affects the cornea of ​​the eye, and it becomes less shiny. And in the opposite direction: chronically suppressed crying leads to tension in the jaw. This is why doing exercises to free yourself from clamps is often accompanied by crying.

Due to the pent-up desire to scream in pain and fear, blocks occur in the vocal cords. Therefore, the best way to release the clamps in the throat is to scream loudly and for a long time.

If you have the opportunity to scream at the top of your lungs (for example, in the forest or in the country when there is no one nearby), scream. Scream about your suffering, your anger and disappointments. There is no need to pronounce words. Let it be a single sound coming out of your throat with force.

Often such a cry turns into sobbing. This is due to the unblocking of emotions and is very beneficial. Many people cannot afford to scream - conditions do not allow it, or the pressure is so strong that screaming is impossible. Then you can do the following exercise:

Place your right thumb one centimeter below the angle of your lower jaw and your middle finger in a similar position on the other side of your neck. Maintain this pressure continuously and begin to make sounds, first quietly and then increasing the volume. Try to maintain a high tone.
Then move your fingers to the middle of your neck and repeat the long middle tone. Then repeat the same thing, squeezing the muscles at the base of your neck, while making low sounds.

However, throat exercises alone cannot relieve all the blockages caused by holding in emotions. The next belt of muscle clamps is at chest level.

3. Chest and breathing
For many people, the chest does not move with breathing. And the breathing itself is shallow and frequent or shallow and uneven. There are delays in inhalation or exhalation. Alexander Lowen said that puffing out the chest is a form of defiance, of defiance, as if the body is saying: “I will not allow you to come near me.” In other people, the chest is compressed and never fully expands. In the language of the body metaphor, this means: “I am depressed and cannot take from life what it offers me.”

Chest clamps cause breathing problems. Any difficulty in the breathing process also causes fear. When a person does not realize the true cause of fear, he becomes anxious and looks for this cause in the world around him.

To check if you have breathing problems, do the following exercise:

While sitting on a chair, say in your normal voice: “Ah-ah”, looking at the second hand of the clock. If you are unable to hold a sound for 20 seconds, it means you have breathing problems.

You can relax the muscle ring around your chest using a breathing exercise. This method of breathing is named after Lowen, a psychotherapist who developed many different techniques of body-oriented therapy. There is a special chair for this type of breathing. But at home, you can perform Lowen breathing as described in the exercise. Experience has shown that this does not make it any less effective.

Lie across the sofa so that your feet without shoes are on the floor and your buttocks hang slightly. Place a cushion under your lower back (for example, you can tightly roll up a cotton blanket) so that your chest is maximized and your head and back are below your lower back. Place your hands above your head, palms up.

Start breathing deeply and rarely. You cannot breathe often; this will be a different breathing technique, which is performed only with an assistant, as side effects may occur. Breathe like this for 30 minutes. If you suddenly start crying, or sobbing all over, or laughing, don’t get confused. This is a good reaction, indicating the release of suppressed emotions blocked in muscle clamps.

When muscle tension relaxes, energy is released and tends to come out. That is why it is so important not to restrain the reactions that arise, but to allow them to flow freely. After all, if you hold them back, they will not respond again and will again form a muscle clamp. You may feel dizzy - lie still after doing the exercise until the dizziness goes away. At first, you may want to sleep after doing this exercise - fall asleep if possible, but only after completing the exercise.

Your feelings or reactions may change. Tingling, twitching and other sensations may appear in the arms, legs, and back. You might feel like tapping your feet. In general, sensations and reactions can be very different. Don't resist them, just watch them.

Do this exercise every day for the duration of your self-therapy. After some time, you will feel the positive effects of this breathing technique.

4. Exercises for the diaphragm and waist
The next ring of muscle clamps is located around the diaphragm and waist. This ring splits the human body into two halves.

The diaphragm is a muscle that is involved in breathing; it contracts whenever a person experiences fear. If fear becomes chronic, the diaphragm is under constant tension, creating breathing problems and causing a predisposition to experience fear. Thus a vicious circle arises. Fear gives rise to a clamping of the diaphragm, and a clamping gives rise to anxiety.

The diaphragm is located above the waist, which connects the chest to the abdomen and pelvis. Muscle tightness in this area interferes with the flow of blood and senses to the genitals and legs, causing anxiety, which in turn leads to breathing problems. Then again the same vicious circle.

There is only one conclusion from all this: it is necessary to relax chronic tensions and release accumulated fear.

To check how tight or loose your waist is, do the following exercise:

Do this exercise while standing. Place your feet parallel, knees slightly bent, body weight slightly shifted forward. Raise your arms with elbows bent to shoulder height. The brushes hung freely. Turn your body as far as possible to the left and hold this position for about a minute. Then turn your body to the right and stay in this position for about a minute. Pay attention to the tension in the muscles of your back and waist. Are you able to inhale with your lower abdomen in this position?

If your breathing is disrupted and your muscles are too tense or you experience pain in them, then you have developed a muscular armor around the diaphragm and waist area.

To relieve chronic muscle tension in the waist area, the best way is Lowen breathing, the technique for which you already know. In addition, it is useful to systematically perform the following exercises:

1. Lie on the floor on your back, arms at your sides, palms up, legs together. Bend your knees at an angle of 90°. Turn both legs first to the left, so that the lower (left) leg rests completely on the floor and the right leg rests on it; legs remain bent at the knees. Then turn your legs to the right in the same way. In this case, the back to the waist remains pressed to the floor. Repeat the exercise up to 10 times.
2. Now do the previous exercise, making it more difficult. When turning your legs, turn your head in the opposite direction. Also perform this exercise up to 10 times.
3. Get on all fours, knees at a 90° angle, keeping your arms straight. Bend your back down at the waist as far as possible, and then arch your back up as much as possible. Do up to 10 such movements.
4. Get on all fours as described in the previous exercise. Then slowly extend your straightened arms and body forward, sliding along the floor until they lie almost entirely on the floor. Your pose will resemble that of a stretching cat. Stay in this position for a while and slowly pull your arms back to the starting position. Do this exercise several times (as many times as you can handle).
5. Sit on the floor with your knees slightly bent and slightly apart. Place your palms on the back of your head. Bend your torso to the left, trying to get your elbow as close to the floor as possible (ideal if it touches the floor). Stay in this position for some time. Then slowly straighten up and repeat the same to the right side.

Although these exercises help to remove the tension around the waist, they are not enough to free you from the “accumulations” of fear impulses. Fear can only be released through the release of blocked anger. The work of unblocking the most stigmatized emotion in society, anger, is particularly troubling for many people. What if it bursts out in an uncontrollable stream? What if the consequences are many times worse than emotional suppression and depression?

In fact, it is the release of anger outside in special ways that makes it safe, since it no longer accumulates, but is discharged in a timely manner. The blocking belt of clamps around the waist disrupts the integrity of the processes occurring in the body, making it divided.

The top and bottom parts seem to belong to two different people. Some have a well-developed upper body, but the pelvis and legs are small, as if immature. Others have a full, round pelvis, but the upper half of the body is small and narrow. Or the top half may be hard and resilient, while the bottom half is soft and passive. This development of the body indicates an inconsistency between the “upper” and “lower” senses.

Despite the fact that the head and neck do not look like an accumulation of muscle mass, muscles are still there, which means muscle blocks can form, which not only cause physical discomfort, but also affect the psychological state.

4 muscle tensions of the head and neck that are worth paying attention to in order to harmonize the body and psyche:

1. Neurasthenic helmet: scalp, forehead, back of the head.

   Symptoms: feeling of tightness in the head, as if there was a “rubber swimming cap” on the head; girdling headaches; circulatory disorders in the soft tissues of the head.

   Causes: the neurasthenic helmet is characteristic of a modern person living in a metropolis. It is caused by digitality of thinking, excessive intellectualization - “life in the head.” Constant concentration on mental activity, a sedentary lifestyle, “not feeling” your own body - all this leads to the fact that the scalp muscles spasm more and more.

   Psychological consequences: stereotyped, rigid thinking - the “carrier” of the neurasthenic helmet loses the ability to accept and absorb new information. Plus, chronic fatigue and irritability are added to this.

   Exercises: Palpation and self-massage with skin shifting will help you diagnose and begin to work on your neurasthenic helmet. The goal is to look for compactions, immovable skin, bumps and depressions, painful areas that indicate the presence of a neurasthenic helmet.

2. Eye block: extraocular muscles, muscles of the scalp and neck.

   Symptoms: running or vice versa static look; constant wrinkling of the forehead and between the eyebrows; pain, heaviness, pressure in the eyes (because the vessels supplying the eyes are pinched); blurred vision.

   Causes: the eye clamp is formed against the background of fear of the surrounding world, primarily society. Often this pressure is formed in childhood, when, due to the psychological characteristics of the parents, the child is constantly in tension, afraid of making a mistake and disappointing them. Thus, a person gets used to controlling the world around him with his eyes, constantly looking closely at the reactions of others to his words and actions.

   Psychological consequences: chronic anxiety.

   Exercises: any gentle eye gymnastics is suitable for working out the eye block. Focus attention during practice on sensations in the eye area and extraocular muscles.

3. Temporomandibular clamp.

   Symptoms: As a rule, this muscle block is not felt or recognized. However, it can be recognized by two indirect signs: firstly, most often it “comes in pairs” with a clamp in the hands (hands, forearms, shoulders); and secondly, a person with a high-frequency clamp has constricted articulation - it’s as if he speaks “through his teeth.”

   Causes: is a consequence of social adaptation, namely a ban on the expression of anger. Angry, but not allowing himself to express it, a person reflexively clenches his jaw.

   Psychological consequences: due to the fact that anger is suppressed and emotional tension accumulates, so-called passive-aggressive behavior is formed. A person expresses his disagreement in roundabout, manipulative ways. For example, he is chronically late for work, becomes sarcastic, and in crisis situations takes the position of a victim, shifting responsibility to others.

   Exercises: to work out this clamp, self-massage is good according to this scheme: we press our fingers tightly on both sides of the jaw joints, then we open our mouth very, very slowly, and with our fingers we exert counteraction - the jaw moves down, and our fingers move the muscles up. We open our mouth to the maximum, and then just as slowly we begin to close our mouth and move the muscles down with our fingers. Repeat 5-6 times with eyes closed. We direct the focus of attention to the area of ​​the jaw joints.

   For a gentle static stretch of the jaw muscles, you need to open your mouth as wide as possible and place a suitable sized retainer between the teeth - for example, a clenched fist (with your knuckles facing you). We remain in this position for at least 2-3 minutes so that the muscles have time to relax.

4. Throat clamp: muscles of the throat, tongue, deep muscles of the neck, back of the head.

   Symptoms: feeling of a lump in the throat; feeling of slight suffocation; constant desire to swallow; quiet speech.

   Causes: a throat clamp is a consequence of the prohibition on crying, screaming, offending, i.e. is also socially conditioned. It can form both in childhood and in adulthood.

   Psychological consequences: if you “wear” a throat clamp for a long time, the ability to cry and verbalize your feelings, grievances, and opinions disappears. Often even the ability to recognize one’s emotions disappears. As a result, the person looks reserved, taciturn, and unemotional, but these characteristics are only a consequence of mental trauma and muscle tension.

   Exercises: to work on throat tension, techniques for developing oratory skills and speaker speech are used. For example, you can loudly pronounce the sounds A-O-U-Y-E, actively engaging the muscles of the articulatory apparatus. Lion pose (Simhasana) also has a beneficial effect on releasing the throat constriction.

   In addition to local work on the clamps, it is worth paying special attention to warming up and self-massage of the neck, since hypertonicity of its muscles is present in all of the listed blocks. You should start warming up your neck with a light power load, and then move on to gentle traction and massage.