Anti-Postural Tip: A Soft Heart for a Healthy Spine and Mind

People complain quite a bit about shoulder and back tension, so this tip is a way to begin addressing these issues from a mind-body approach. We hold a great deal of tension in our chest and shoulders. One way to help relax this tension is to imagine your heart area softening, allowing your chest to open and release. Often this causes the chest to sink a little bit, which is ok. This softening means that the ribs, and the muscles that connect the ribs to the shoulders, are able to relax, which also takes pressure off of the upper spine and neck. As an added bonus, breathing becomes more natural, more centered in the diaphragm (your big abdominal breathing muscle), and less centered in the upper chest.

Avoid using any force to push your chest down, however. Just allow it to deflate as much as it will on its own. We want the ribs to stay soft and mobile, not held in position. Whether the chest is lifted and locked, or locked down, we generally lose good function.

When the breath begins to drop down in the body as a result of reduced tension in the chest, it will continue your relaxation further, promoting states of calm awareness and improved digestion and metabolism. Again, this is not based on force, but an absence of tension. When your body is truly at rest, the diaphragm will take over the task of breathing. When you are doing aerobics, it becomes important for the chest and neck breathing muscles to engage. These guys are your backup system, and they work best for short-term, intense need.

I find that softening my heart causes my eyes to also soften somewhat, reducing the strain I am putting on them. It can make me more emotionally available and receptive to others, just as having a "hard heart" in metaphorical terms means being cold and unavailable to others' needs. As with any mind-body approach, the effects can be global, extending into emotional realms quite easily.

What effects do you notice when trying this? Does it change the way your body weight sinks into the ground? How about the way your upper spine and shoulders feel? Play with this a little, and see what you can learn.

Enjoy!