Energy Block In The Body
Relationship To Muscle Tightness
Freeing up an energy block in the body
It’s such an amazing feeling when you’re able to interact with your energy and feel it flowing freely. There are many reasons why energy can become “stuck” or why it may not be flowing optimally. Muscle tightness or muscle tension is commonly related to an energy block in the body, so we’ll explore this further in this post.
But even before looking at muscle tension, there’s one important fact to keep in mind. Being able to be in tune with your energy and the energy around you really depends on your mindset. If your mind doesn’t believe it’s possible, it won’t be possible. So keep an open mind and you will get there and receive all the benefits that this kind of work has to offer.
What is energy in relation to our body?
Everything in our world is made up of energy. This means that there is always energy within us and around us that we can interact with.
In yogi terms, this energy is known as “prana”. Prana is also defined as our “life force” and it is always moving through us and around us. It moves throughout the body along many different channels. The most well known is the central channel which is where energy centers called the “chakras” are located.
The chakras are basically 7 different energy centers that provide us with a nice road map of how our energy relates to our physical body.
When muscles are tight, this can cause an energy block at the associated energy center. When this happens, our energy can no longer flow freely up and down this central channel.
The chakras also relate to different aspects of our life ranging from our relationship to finances all the way to our relationship with a higher power. So they really cover all the bases.
Stuck energy = 👎🏻
Free energy = 👍🏼
So the question is, do tight muscles cause an energy block in the body or does an energy block from our circumstance in life cause tight muscles?
It can really happen from either way and regardless of the answer, I think it’s important to work on both aspects; meaning working on the physical body as well as where and how we place our energy throughout our daily lives.
I think if I give you an example this will all make more sense.
Let’s use the throat chakra for example.
This area is related to the muscles of your neck and is associated with your ability to communicate and express your true self. (There is more detail to this area than this but let’s keep it simple.)
An issue in this area can present in two different ways:
1. You have really tight neck muscles and due to this tightness, the energy in the throat chakra isn’t flowing well.
2. You feel that you cannot express your true self in this world (meaning the throat chakra energy is stuck) and now your neck muscles are tightening up in response.
Whichever way it happens, in both scenarios you’re ending up with tight neck muscles and an energy block in the body.
This is why it’s important to work on the physical body (the tight neck muscles) as well as working on your energy flow (working on ways that will allow you to express yourself freely).
So working on something physical such as stretching can help with energy flow. This is how a physical yoga practice such as vinyasa yoga works on the energetic level. It works on keeping the body in balance through strength and flexibility. Also, these types of yoga classes are often designed very specifically to address the chakras, even if the teacher doesn’t specifically say it.
In contrast, this is how something non-physical like meditation can help someone decrease pain and muscle tension.
Everything is connected!
The level of connection within us is amazing and this is what holistic healing is all about. It’s about working on the mind, body, and spirit. A great way to work on the “spirit” part is through our energy and also allowing ourselves to see connections in the world around us.
I’m all for modern medicine, but I also believe adding in holistic approaches to healing is extremely important. When we only work on healing from a physical or mental standpoint and we ignore deeper connections such as our energy, we are missing a very important piece of the puzzle.
Meditation and energy flow
Meditation is one of the best ways to work on your energy flow and to learn how to sense your energy. This is because in meditation you are tuning out the external world. Much of the external world distracts us from sensing our energy. We need to turn inward to connect with this.
With practice, it is possible to learn how to feel and interact with your energy.
In my opinion and from personal experience, if you are holding tension in any area of your body, it’s going to be difficult to feel your energy flowing. For example, if you are holding your abdomen tight, the energy won’t be able to flow past the abdomen and in essence gets “blocked” from flowing freely. When your energy is free to flow up, down, and around your body, this is when you’re able to enter into a meditative state.
My experience with this (a practical example to help you on your journey)
I know it’s possible to learn to work with your energy because I used have a difficult time with this and now I find it relatively easy.
Most of the time when I sit and meditate, I can start to feel energy flowing around me within a minute or so.
One of the breakthroughs in my meditation practice was realizing the relationship between energy flow and muscle tightness.
I kept noticing that I was holding a lot of tension in my sit bones area when sitting for meditation. As soon as I would consciously relax this area, I would immediately be able to tune into my energy flow. This was also true for other areas in my body such as my abdomen and my upper traps. If I was tense, I couldn’t get into a meditative state. Once I relaxed, I would enter a meditative state pretty quickly.
I know I’m making this sound easy and that’s not my intent. Relaxing muscles and allowing your mind to tune into energy flow is no simple task for most of us. My experience came with practice. I share it with you in hopes that it helps you on your journey.
I have a video where I teach you how to use your breath to relax tight muscles that you may find helpful: Click here for the video
There are also many other ways besides meditation to work on interacting with your energy such as yoga, pranayama (breath work), and even simpler ways such as spending time out in nature. Find what resonates with you.
My 7 day yoga experience is a great place to start to find what you like to use to work on your energy. It’s totally free and you can access it by clicking here.
On a final note, don’t take this too seriously and just enjoy the experience. Let go of expectations and attachment to the results; this is when the magic can happen.
When you keep your mind open the possibilities are endless.
