“Muscle Armoring” occurs when repeated tensions and stresses stresses turn muscles rigid so that the muscle tension appears permanent. Over long periods, a person stops noticing that the muscles are armored even though they’ve become more dull, serious, stern or emotionless.
The muscle rigidity locks certain emotions and beliefs into the body as if they were stored there. Muscle rigidity goes along with mental rigidity, a stubborn attitude, unexpressed communication (being tight lipped), inflexibility, an inflexible attitude, a fixed gaze, life stagnation, anger (chip on shoulder), being easily offended and withdrawal.
Exercises that loosen the muscles will help emotions flow and integrate and improve attitudes and body feeling. Ways to release armoring:
1. Tense and Relax
Focus on a specific muscle. Intentionally tense it. Then relax it. Do this a few times for that one group of muscles (such as upper arm, stomach muscles, lower back muscles, upper leg, lower leg, jaw, etc.) and then relax it. Hold or tighten the area and then slowly release it.
If you’re in need of a bigger release, go through your entire body like this. You’ll feel like new afterwards. Later in the week you’re more likely to notice muscle tensing and release it before it gets rigid. You realize that muscle tensing is a default reaction to mental resistance. You meet someone you don’t like and muscles automatically tense up, for defense. But since you’re likely not in a life-or-death combat situation, the armoring is a waste of energy.
2. Stretching
Certain yoga postures release muscle armoring. If you don’t do yoga, simple stretching exercises at home will also do. Look up different ways to stretch the arms, legs, back, chest, torso, etc. and do it.
People on vacation often naturally or subconsciously do this when waking up or lying at the beach because they are mentally unwinding from a habitual frozen stress they carry around at home. If you already do it at home you’re in less need of vacation.
3. Massage
Different massages address different muscles. Getting a massage therefore doesn’t only relax the body but releases energy that was stuck in resistant attitudes.
Some massages, such as “Rolfing” are specifically designed to release armoring, but even a simple massage will soften your attitude.
4. Other Methods
Shaking your limbs or body, doing sports, deep breathing, breathing techniques, meditation, Sauna, Infrared Sauna, Hot Bath, Epsom Salt Bath, Steam Sauna, swimming, facial massage, softening gaze, laughing, emotional releasing techniques, squeeze & release, sunbathing, red-light-therapy, alexander technique, posture improvement, releasing habitual thought, movement a and body posture and similar also contribute to softened armor.
How much of this? The more armored and contracted you feel, the more de-armoring you apply. Armor is put on in defense. If you’ve been in difficult or traumatic situations, you have armoring that you don’t need to carry around forever. Most people in modern society don’t require all this armor and can get rid of it at great gain.
