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Question about tight muscles and how to get them relaxed as their normal state.
This probably belongs in a forum on chronic pain, but I have found little useful information in such venues up to now…. And Tai-Chi/Qigong are about health anyway…..So I’ve been self-training Taijijuan (Yang) for a year and find it more effective than medication. Still, my underlying problem is very tight muscles (esp. In the legs, arms and shoulders) causing compression on the nerves. I try to do Taijijuan daily regardless of weather and I use foam rollers a lot for myofascial release. Still, especially when the weather changes, my muscle system can get so tight, the pain keeps me awake at night and really interferes with concentration at work and my mood at home.
Wu Xing Qigong seems to help a little, but recurrence remains aggravating!
…. Any suggestions?
hi robin
a first thing i would try is to learn the outer dissolving method, bruce teaches it live and he also has a book, opening the energy gates, and a cd on standing dissolving. Or you could seek out an EA instructor certified in the breathing.
it directly teaches you how to relieve tension in the body, great stuff.not sure what you diet is like, but id be willing to bet there is something you are eating that is causing some irritation at the nerve level. (I think this because of the weather change issue, that’s a sign of chronic inflammation of the body)
if you haven’t already, id learn about anti-inflammatory dietary practices and maybe check in with a naturopath about finding out ways to use diet to improve your condition.magnesium supplementation can be a very good way to lower tension levels in the body, I use a product called magnesium serene, by source naturals. I also take epsom salt baths on a pretty regular basis for the same reason, to help reduce tension.
another thing to look at is your breathing; as a bodyworker, what I often notice is this; people are subconsiously stressing out and tensing up, and you can see it in the breath, people will purse their lips as they blow out, or they may lack a good, full exhale. let everything out on the exhale! I really like the taoist breathing method, works great, and bruce has a cd set on breathing that can help you learn the basics. I also use systema style breathing, it seems to be good for acute stressful moments (like when your getting hit!). personally, I find the 2 of them are a good compliment, the taoist breath most all of the time, and a little systema breathing when I find myself really tensing up or otherwise feel the stress piling up. vladmir vasiliev has a book and video on breathing. I will note the 2 methods are different, but its been my experience they can work well together… I teach both to my bodywork clients, and I see it making a big difference when people use it.
hope this helps!
richard
Hey Robin,
I have a lot of experiance with chronic back pain and tight muscles. I found deep tissue massage to be very helpful. I went to a number of massage therapists until I found one that went deep enough to break up all the bound tissue in my back. She specialized in triggerpoint massage.
The second thing is the Outer Dissolving chi gung that Bruce teaches. It basically allows you to use your mind to find a piece of tension in your body and to relax it away. Over time, any piece of tension that you can feel in your body can be “dissolved” or relaxed away. This is where I spend a lot of my effort these days.
In my case, my pain was so bad that I couldn’t practice standing for more than a few minutes at a time. I didn’t start to make fast progress until I started to lay down and practice in bed. This was the most comfortable position I could find and it allowed me to practice for an hour at a time. This really accerated my own progress in relieving my back pain.
Hope this helps,
Janak
Thank you Richard and Janak!
Social internet has been slow these past few weeks.You both gave great advice that I will begin to explore. Food allergy makes sense, but I eat rather well. I’ve had this condition for as long as I can remember and I am/was a musician, playing the oboe, so fluid breathing is natural to me….. I find discussions on breathing confusing, unless they focus on muscle groups…..
I’ll try to get the public library to purchase EA DVDs. Apart from outer dissolving, which do you consider the most useful, in general?
Thanks again!
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