Recently I went to a massage therapist who told me my muscles were so guarded that the individual muscles felt like they were lumped together like one large muscle. She told me she was unable to work between the individual muscles, because my muscle guarding was so severe. I have always known I am a person who struggles to relax, but I didn’t realize it was an issue at a subconscious level within my body. With the feedback from the massage therapist in mind, I decided to research muscle guarding. And, sure enough, it isn’t a made-up concept!
Muscle
guarding is the nervous system’s attempt at protecting the body from a
perceived threat. Often, it occurs as a
response to bodily injury…but for other people, the root source of stress doesn’t
appear as obvious. But whether the
bodily stress is real or perceived, the muscles respond by attempting to guard the
body from harm. In short doses, muscle
guarding can be a beneficial, protective measure for the body. Chronic, sustained muscle guarding, however,
is actually counterproductive as it creates more issues than it actually
remedies.
What
if we applied the concepts of muscle guarding to the way we live our
lives? In appropriate doses, guarding
can be a fine response to hurtful or injury-prone situations. However, a constant state of tension can be
damaging. In fact, when the body guards
a certain area for prolonged periods, it often starts fatiguing and damaging
other areas of the body that aren’t in any danger of threat. In my personal life, if I decide to be
selective and acute with my use of guarding, this can serve me well. But, if I allow my guarding to be long-lived
and not discerning, I put myself in serious risk for strain, weariness, and unease.
Research
reveals that two components need to exist to help people with muscle guarding:
1. Identify if there is a root cause and 2. Create a safe atmosphere that encourages
authentic relaxation. And, most experts
agree that it is a gradual process of retraining the body to relax and trust
again. Surely the same principles can be
applied in our personal lives. If we
feel we are chronically guarded, perhaps we could benefit from reflecting on
potential causes of the guarding and from finding environments and
relationships that foster true release.
Then, give ourselves grace to allow the journey to be a steady
progression toward relaxed acceptance.
Changepoints:
We
may be knowingly or unknowingly suffering from “life guarding” if:
·
We struggle to be transparent with people in our lives, even
people who are supposed to be close to us.
·
We are afraid to let down our walls due to past hurts.
·
We deflect when people ask us questions about ourselves in
an attempt to distract people away from getting to know us on a deeper level.
·
Our initial reaction is to assume a position of defense if
something happens to us, instead of naturally providing the benefit of the
doubt.
If you are seeking to reduce guarding in your life,
consider:
o
Slowly sharing pieces of your life that don’t feel
personally threatening with people you can be real with, until you are able to
naturally share more freely.
o
Evaluating what past sources have caused you stress or
distrust and determine if there are measures you can take to release these from
your life.
o
Finding people who appreciate you for who you are and who
will genuinely be overjoyed to get to know you at your core.
Relax. Self-accept.
Seek transparency.
outSIGHTin, LLC: Creating awareness as a changepoint for improved organizational
results
