Daily Life can bring many joys as well as challenges. We often start our week with good intentions and planning, but chaos can barge in leaving us feeling stressed and hassled, and before we know it our best laid plans may have gone awry. Often as business owners we may feel as though we are like chefs trying to cook five entrees on four burners, or act like acrobats spinning multiple plates at a time. These challenges can not only affect us mentally, but also physically manifesting as knotted and tight muscles causing pain.
You can imagine your sore muscles are akin to a snarled ball of ribbons. We all have that box of craft ribbons that seem to magically knot themselves up. Ever notice that once you unsnarl your ribbon of choice that it still carries wrinkles that want to automatically bunch up all over again? Our bodies can act like that. With the ribbon, you unknot it and perhaps iron it out so it will be smooth and like new once again. Your muscles can also re-knot themselves after a therapy treatment, but of course we can’t use an iron on them. Instead, we can use a “mental iron” to smooth out the rumples so they don’t reform and cause us discomfort all over again.
“Mentastics” (mental gymnastics) are helpful techniques that help soothe and smooth our mind and muscles, respectively. If you feel tension in your neck and upper back, a helpful mentastic is to roll your shoulders gently back and downward; giving yourself an image of those shoulder blades being made of soft wax that are melting down your back. Stand and lean over to one side, letting your arm dangle. Make small circles with the arm, allowing the limb to slowly begin to stretch and feel the pull of gravity downward. You can add a “lazy waggle” to incorporate more movement into your entire shoulder quadrant. Repeat this on the opposite side after a few minutes. Do these mentastics until you feel genuinely bored to the point that your mind wanders, and you should feel a significant loosening of the entire affected area; this is because you have allowed your mind to release along with the targeted muscle area. Again, the main point is to iron out the rumples by easing the mind first and then the body should follow suit. Doing mentastics on a regular daily basis can be an excellent source of preventative action against the buildup of tension and discomfort. Try some mentastics today and see how they can help unknot the snarled ribbons in your life to restore some smoothness and ease again.
Rose Marie Morozowich is a Certified Level 4 practitioner of The Trager Approach®, a method of somatic movement education. She enjoys helping people reconnect with ease, lightness, and possibility in their bodies guided by compassion, integrity, and deep dedication. Inspired by her own connection to this work, her mission is to support lasting shifts in mood, health, and overall outlook—so each person can move through life with greater freedom, comfort, and joy.
Submitted By: Rose Marie Morozowich
Email: tragerbyrosemarie@gmail.com
Website: www.tragerbyrosemarie.com
Phone: 412-601-1194
