To pay attention to what is painful can ironically provide you with freedom.

We all develop patterns of holding tension in our bodies as we move through life and experience tension, fear, and stress.  Do you notice yourself clenching your jaw or making a fist when you are experiencing difficult emotions? Perhaps you feel your chest constricting when you run into someone with whom communication is challenging.

In between practicing law and being a psychologist, I did a ton of yoga. I experienced much healing on a yoga mat. Before that time, I would work through, run through, or suppress what was uncomfortable or painful. Turning my attention elsewhere seemed like the healthiest thing I could do. It was counterintuitive to actually pay attention to what was painful or uncomfortable.  Doing so can provide you with much freedom.

The physical tightness and pain we feel in our bodies can teach us more about ourselves.  These sensations often result from certain thoughts and emotions. When we start to notice the correlation, between certain thoughts and emotions with feelings in our bodies, we gain the power to relax and release what doesn't serve us. Relaxing your body before the tension escalates will in turn influence your thinking and emotions.

Our body carries rules we have internalized of how we should be, memories of painful or frightening experiences, and judgments of self and others everywhere we go. We are always carrying the extra weight of these things. That weight limits what we can do and how we interact with the world around us.

Notice your own experience. Is there something you have shouldered that you are ready to let go of? Is there a burden that you no longer wish to hold? Ask yourself what it would be like to let that weight or burden go. Visualize the influence on relationships and your everyday life. When you are ready use your breath on the exhale to let it go.