3 tips for working with muscle tension

As a naturopathic doctor and yoga teacher (and as a human being living in 2023), I’ve both personally experienced and worked with several individuals with impressive amounts of muscular tension. Why do we have so much tension? I believe this answer is multifactorial; it is a combination of our largely sedentary lifestyle (compared to our very mobile ancestors), our chronic state of survival, and the convenience/efficiency of our modern-day life. Many of us have devices that clean our spaces for us, food that appears on a shelf for us to grab, and work that involves staring at a screen for much of the day.

There is no doubt however that these same modern-day conveniences are very helpful. So how do we balance the tension to enjoy a little more ease in our bodies and lives?

If you’ve ever been in the position of trying to relax while thinking “relax, relax, relax,” you’ve probably discovered it’s not as simple as thinking (or muscling, pun intended) your way into an equanimous state.

Here are 3 tips I use in my practice as a yoga practitioner specifically to help individuals feel more comfortable, embodied, and easeful in their own yoga practice (and with a little awareness, in the rest of everyday life too). 

1.     Breathe. This sounds incredibly simple, and in fact, that’s the best part! Though it’s “simple,” we often overlook the proper way to breathe and many of us even hold our breath in stressful situations. The good news is that often the simplest choices are the most profound and accessible (and not to mention, affordable). The goal is to breathe deeply and consistently using your diaphragm. Your breath (and muscles of respiration) connect to your nervous system. Have you ever noticed that your heart rate speeds up on your inhales and slows down on your exhales? That is because your breath is the secret connection to your relaxation response, also known as the parasympathetic nervous system, in medical lingo. Yoga has many definitions but core to all of them is a steady flow of breath. A muscle that is tight often needs a little bit of specific TLC (more on that later), but the cessation of breath will render all movement less effective. Muscles (and your brain) need oxygen first and foremost.

2.     Go slow, yet be consistent. Our nervous systems enjoy incremental change and muscles loosen with steadfast effort. In yoga specifically, muscles and tendons are most vulnerable to overstretch or overuse injuries. If you go slow, you are automatically more mindful of the feedback that your nervous system is sending you about a specific position. Think about a plate of food – if you scarf down your meal, you will be less likely to appreciate the flavors, the sensations, the feelings that the meal evoke in you. Do you even know if you like what you ate? The same is true with movement in your body. Going slow allows for us to develop that felt sense of movement in the body. It can be incredibly difficult to relax a place of your body that you have no sensory awareness of.  Furthermore, humans store unprocessed emotions in the body in the form of tension. It is counterproductive to muscle your way into relaxation because that is likely the exact mentality that developed the tension in the first place. We need to meet the mindless grind with the opposite – intentional slowness - to start the process of unwinding tension. And the more your practice a skill, the more your nervous system “wires” or cements that learning into your body and brain.

3.     Work on and develop end range strength. Also known as “eccentric-isometric” strength, this means that you’re engaging your muscle while it’s in a lengthened position. This functional technique was a huge emphasis in my advanced yoga training when working on injury prevention and management. A strong, flexible muscle is the most stable. Your nervous system really likes balance; thus, if your nervous system (basically your body’s control tower) detects that your body lacks the stability to fully support a motion, it will tighten and reduce mobility in that area to prevent injury. It’s also true that sometimes your muscles are tight because they are compensating for a weak nearby muscle. It’s a good rule of thumb to remember that strong does not necessarily equal tight, and flexible does not necessarily equal weak. So, we don’t just want to forcibly demand a muscle stretches without the counterbalancing action of strengthening it in in that plane of motion. Ideally, we want a combination of both muscle strength and length to maximize functional mobility. One of the best ways to do this is to move muscles through an active range of motion and engage them a little bit at their edge.  

Remember, consistency and intention are key! Small, daily effort contributes to large dividends in the long run.

It is helpful to find a knowledgeable practitioner in your area or online who you can work with long enough to assess your progress over time. I offer 1:1 yoga instruction if you’re interested in targeted support! As always, feel free to reach out with questions :)