By Monique Lonner, Director of Soul Yoga Therapy
It has been said that a significant indication of one’s capability to live a courageous and whole-hearted life is their ability to be vulnerable. In keeping up appearances, and not letting ourselves get soft and quiet, are building walls that prevents us from fully living?
As I engage in my meditative practices this week, I am noticing how my body follows my emotional state. I tend to roll my shoulders inward when I don’t want to face something. This is a common psycho/physical combination. This rolling inward of the shoulders is an emotionally protective measure. Unconsciously, we believe we are being strong in guarding our heart, but in this case that strength is a weakness.
Physically this alignment causes shoulder issues, rotator cuff injury, carpal tunnel syndrome and thumb arthritis to name a few side effects. Emotionally protecting our tender spots reduces our entire range of emotional experience. In other words, in trying to reduce our shadow we also have to dim our light.
If this rings a bell for you, check out Brian Dorfman’s explanations on how to work with the protective shoulder posture.
Here’s a sneak preview in which Brian discusses shoulder pain and humeral deviation.
“And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.”
