Good work everyone!!

So much of all this is purely paying attention to ourselves. Noticing what we say about ourselves, how we react to things (emotionally, mentally and physically) and even how we hold ourselves. It all works together. We feel stress or an insecurity and we tense up. As our physical tension grows it feeds the mental tension and also causes pain which in turn adds a new tension. It's a negative spiral that often is accompanied by negative thoughts.

One way to help is to check your physical tension and release it. A good relaxation (and basic meditation) technique is to go through all of your body and relax each part by muscle group. But this doesn't have to be just when you are quiet or trying to relax. Notice your body right now. What is tense? Your shoulders from typing? Your legs from the way you are sitting? Your jaw? Your torso? Your tongue?

Try it when you are driving, watching tv, cooking, working... you'll be suprised. We wonder where our headaches come from until we realize that we clench our jaw or tighten our shoulders even when they don't need to be.

When I asked myself just now "what is tense?" I found that I was sitting in such a way that I was tightening both of my ankles to the point that one foot was falling asleep, my jaw was clenched and one hand was in a fist. I was sitting so that my shoulders were tight and my neck was working overtime to support the posture.

What about you?