Welcome to this week’s Newsletter. 

I hope you have had a good week, and it’s refreshing that, as I sit here working on the Newsletter, I am looking out and seeing sunshine and a beautiful blue sky … fabulous, and we want more of this please!

The week started with a little hiccup as the webhost for jtp.zone went down on Tuesday morning, so we were a little late getting the Morning Movement class going, but magically everything came back up, so we did do our class albeit a little shorter (and later). What was absolutely brilliant was how the JTP-ers were patient and stuck with it, and not only that but came to class in good humour and with kindness. This reminded me of how grateful I am to have such wonderful people in the JTP family and how lucky I am to have you in my life, a privilege to spend time with and move together … THANK YOU!

This episode also let me know just how tense I can get when things don’t go to plan, but also how much tension I seem to carry physically and mentally, so this week’s Your Whole Self is all about tension — where it comes from, our thoughts and the physical signs — I also suggest some ways to help release that tension. 

As we are heading into our half-term break there are only a couple of Face-to-Face Classes running this week: 

• Monday Old Woodhouse, 9.30am and 10.30am, with Jenny
• Friday Rempstone Village Hall 9.30am, with Jenny

To check when your regular class is running remember that you can head to the Face-to-Face Class Calendar (link at the bottom of every Newsletter, and at the bottom of the website). 

Remember also the Catchups System (link also at the bottom) where you will be able to sign out of any of your regular classes you have to miss, and book into your Catchup classes.

Online Classes — I will be teaching live on Monday and Tuesday this week, but taking a break from Wednesday. Check out the jtp.zone website for all class information. As per usual, I have timetabled recordings for when I am not teaching live.

Ok, so let’s address Tension — where does it come from, how does it start and also how does it manifest itself in our minds and bodies?

Firstly, let’s look at the story we tell ourselves which can lead to a build up of tension. 

Have you ever noticed how you can walk into a room feeling perfectly ok, but end up walking out with your jaw clenched and wearing your shoulders as ear-rings? Well this kind of tension rarely appears from nowhere, it usually begins with a thought — ‘I must not get this wrong’; ‘I should be able to cope’; ‘They will be disappointed if I say no.’; ‘I don’t have time to stop’. 

Our nervous system is listening very carefully to these thoughts and stories we are telling ourselves, and when these thoughts carry pressure, expectation, fear or urgency, the body quietly starts to prepare for ‘fight’ mode, even if there is no tiger in sight!!

So where does it come from? Well, it can come from some of the following:

• trying to control outcomes
• wanting to please everyone
• feeling responsible for everything
• rushing
• suppressing how we really feel
• not giving ourselves permission to rest

The tension becomes a physical expression of mental load. The body thinks it is under threat, and obligingly tightens the jaw, lifts the shoulders, grips the tummy, holds the breath — without us really noticing and being conscious that this is what we are doing.

Here are some of the physical signs that we might be holding tension, some you might recognise:

• shallow breathing
• tight neck and shoulders
• headaches
• clenched jaw or teeth grinding
• gripping in the hips or lower back
• a constant feeling of being ‘on edge’
• fatigue that doesn’t quite match your activity level

Sometimes people say to me in class, ‘I didn’t realise how tight I was until we started moving and releasing’, but being aware of this is the first, gentle step towards being able to do something to help.

There are things we can do to start to let tension go. Firstly it’s not by forcing relaxation, and not by telling ourselves to ‘just calm down’, because tension doesn’t respond to being bossed about! 

So we need to look at noticing without judgement, for example oh my shoulders are up again. It’s not about criticising: it’s about curiosity. We can look at our breath — are we breathing properly, say? Try to do a slow inhale through the nose and shorter exhale through the mouth. The out breath will help the nervous system to soften. Then have a little body check, unclenching the jaw, allowing the tongue to rest, drop the shoulders just a little — nothing needs to be dramatic.

Sometimes we can release tension by movement rather than stillness. Some gentle Pilates moves can be good for this, such as a shoulder roll, and some stretching, because when we move we are telling the body it is safe.

Then ask the question: is this thought a fact? Is this pressure real — or is it something I have added? Is there a different way to see this situation, and can I allow ‘good enough’?

It’s also important to remember that we hold tension because we care, because we are conscientious, and because we want to do well. There is nothing wrong with us for feeling all of these things, however, your body does not need to carry the weight of every responsibility all at once. Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is soften, and trust that we don’t have to brace ourselves against life all of the time.

Over the next week use the time to reflect and take five quiet minutes and check in:

• where in my body do I most often hold tension? — shoulders, jaw, tummy, hips?
• what thoughts tend to be present when that tension appears? — is there a pattern, a pressure to get it right, to hurry, to please?
• what am I bracing for? — Is there something I am trying to control or protect?
• if I didn’t need to hold that tension right now, what would soften? — a muscle, a breath, an expectation?

You don’t need to fix anything, you just need to notice. Sometimes awareness alone is enough to loosen the grip.

Have a good week everyone — keep looking, moving, and feeling good … and loosen the grip!

With love and support,

Jane xxx