Still Feeling Tension After A Breathwork Session? Here’s How To Release It

It is normal and healthy for your body to tense up during a breathwork session. This tension is part of the healing process and almost over half of all participants go through it. Bodily tension is particularly common at the beginning of the session and it can show up anywhere, but it most often manifests in the hands as ‘tetany’. The best way for the body to facilitate tension release is to first maximize it and that is what your body is trying to do when you experience tension in a session. But your body needs time to complete the release work and get to a place of relaxation.

Normally, during a Neurodynamic Breathwork Session, the body will have enough time to complete its tension release work. Occasionally, however, the body does not quite get to maximum tension during the session, so there is a body area that was relaxed before the session, that still feels tense after. If this happens to you, this is a message from your body that there is something in there that needs to be released to keep you in optimal health. In order to facilitate this release, you can use the Neurodynamic Tension Release Technique as outlined below. 

The 4-Step Neurodynamic Tension Release Work Technique:

For this technique, you will place your hands on the area where you feel the pain or tension. Below we will use the shoulder as an example to demonstrate the process.

1. Put your hand(s) up against the part of the shoulder that feels tense. Close your eyes and bring your attention within.
   
   
2. Take 4 or 5 deep breaths.
   
   
3. Take a full, deep breath and hold your shoulder in place with your hands and create tension by pushing as hard as you can against your hands with your shoulder (creating isometric tension by not letting the shoulder move ). Hold this position for as long as you can.
   
   
4. At the same time as Step 3, slowly release the breath completely and let out a very loud sound. Visualize the tension releasing out of the body area along with the sound.

You may have to repeat this tension release technique two or three times, but pause for a minute between each time and check in with yourself and see what has happened to the tension. Sometimes it goes away completely, sometimes it partially releases, and sometimes it moves to a different part of the body. If it moves somewhere else, use the same release work technique on the new area.

Additional Tips For Releasing Tension After a Breathwork Session

The technique above is very powerful and should allow for the tension in your body to maximize and release itself. However, you can also try taking a warm bath to relax further or try a healing body meditation before going to bed.

As we say in breathwork: the only way beyond is through!

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Would you like to experience more clarity, less anxiety, or greater self-awareness? Or perhaps you’d like to increase your ability to handle stress and cultivate a sense of calm and inner peace. Whatever it is you are looking for, breathwork can almost certainly support you. It connects you to your inner wisdom, facilitates the release of tension and old stories that are no longer serving you, and supports you in stepping into your fullest potential.

Find out more about our online breathwork process here

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