Monday, April 29, 2013

Stress-related

Have you ever been so wound up you didn't even realize it?

I have trouble sleeping sometimes, so I like to meditate before I go to sleep (or at other times during the day). There's this great free podcast with guided meditations on different topics so that's usually what I fall asleep to. I put it on the sleep timer so that it only plays the one episode and then slowly drift off to sleep (or immediately).

The other day I was tired of my usual deep rest sleep meditation so I listened to one called "Release from stress and pressure." And it wasn't until that moment that I realized exactly how wound up and tight I was. I had been unconsciously clenching my muscles for hours, maybe even days and I had no idea.

That got me to thinking about how much time I spend turning stress into a revolving door of physical tightness that gets transferred back into mental fatigue that gets turned into more tense, clenching muscles. And on and on.

It felt great to finally let go. And all I had to do was realize I was doing it to feel 100x better. This is why it's important to stay physically aware and take just a minutes to let yourself relax. Because otherwise, you just turn into a big ball of anger!

It's hard to always stay on top of everything I'm doing whether I'm working or driving and seeing people or showering or watching tv or reading, but I'm trying to be better at keeping things in my life balanced and healthy.

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