Do you know that stress can cause muscle knots in your upper back?  It’s true.  Read on…

Do you remember the science fiction suspense television series called The Twilight Zone?

Let’s enter now into the Twilight Zone of Knots In Your Back.

Host Rod Serling often said “Imagine this”:  (So, Imagine this:)

You are driving.  Traffic is moving fast.  Big trucks are all around, weaving in and out.

Other drivers are tail-gating.

The sun is hitting the car windows ahead of you and blasting right into your eyes.  The driver behind you is blaring his horn.

You are almost out of gas and have no money to get more!

Do you feel your shoulders lifting and tightening up yet?

The other muscles to tighten would be your jaw and neck.  Your head moves forward; your chin juts out.

You have mental stress when you are in a tight situation like the heavy traffic.  Mental stress causes changes in the way you hold your body so your muscles contract–they become tight.

Tight muscles cause discomfort.  Bodies just don’t like to be all bound up.

And if you keep your stress posture long enough–shoulders hiked, jaw tight–your chest muscles will tighten and shorten, too.  In fact, maybe they already are short and tight just because of the day to day positions your work in.

That, in a nutshell, is an example of how stress can cause knots in your shoulders.

I don’t want to leave you all stressed-up like that so here’s a little meditation for you…

Imagine this:

The weather is perfect.  A soft breeze kisses your cheeks and the setting sun is warming your skin perfectly.

Birds are lining the rustling trees, making their sleepy noises, settling in for the night.  The moon is rising and the sky is becoming rosy and then indigo.

A million stars are twinkling overhead and the cooler breeze is lulling you to sleep.  You can fall asleep easily and rest well.

There is always enough…

Meditation is one way to relieve stress.  There are other easy, self-help ways to start to reduce your physical stress so you can more easily deal with day-to-day stresses at Knots In Your Back.

When your body has more muscular ‘balance’ (like a toddler does) it reduces body stress and pain and lessens mental stress.  It’s like peeling stressful layers off one at a time.

Toddlers:  No stress.  No muscle knots.  🙂

You can get rid of the stressful muscle knots in your shoulders!

Your smart body wants to be well.