Unlocking Calmness Through Muscle Relaxation

Hey there, welcome back to "Remaining Calm Through October." We've got 31 days of calming tips to help you navigate this month, no matter how you're feeling. Remember, it's okay to feel triggered or upset; we're in this together.

Today, we're delving into a simple technique – muscle relaxation – that can help you release stress, trauma, and muscle tension from your body. It's a powerful way to support your well-being, especially as a breast cancer survivor.

Benefits of Muscle Relaxation:

1. The Body Keeps the Score

- You might have noticed how stress and trauma can manifest physically, often as tight muscles, stomach issues, or even widespread pain. The body remembers these experiences.

- Holding onto stress, unprocessed emotions, and trauma can contribute to the "cancer personality traits." (As studied for decades by Dr. W. Douglas Brodie) This is crucial to address, especially if you want to lower your risk of health issues post-breast cancer.

2. Why Muscle Tension Matters

- Muscle tension is like a reflex reaction to stress, a way our body guards itself against injury and pain. When you're stressed, you might clench your jaw or feel knots in your shoulders – that's your body's way of saying, "Danger, react!"

- However, it's often hard for our bodies to automatically release that tension, leading to chronic stress. This prolonged stress can cause inflammation, a root cause of many serious diseases, including breast cancer.

3. Simple Muscle Relaxation Exercise

- The good news is you can learn to let go of this tension with a simple exercise. Karin recommends doing this every morning. Find a comfortable spot to lie down, sit, or even just close your eyes while sitting in a chair.

- Start at your feet and progressively work your way up, tensing each muscle group and then releasing it. This exercise promotes awareness of muscle tension and can help you reduce it over time.

*Calm Action of the Day:*

- Your calm action today is to try this muscle relaxation exercise. Remember, it's a practice, not a one-time fix. Find a quiet moment, and as you release each muscle group, show gratitude to your body for carrying you through each day.

Have a beautifully calm day, my friend, and remember, you can practice these techniques anytime, anywhere. See you in the next episode!