Stress can play havoc with your body, both inside and out!
One of THE most common questions I get asked is… how do I get my shoulders to stay down? The more stressed I get the higher my shoulders rise!
This is extremely common, many of us find our shoulders not only lifting towards our ears but also rounding forwards. This creates restricted movement in our shoulders, thoracic area and neck….which inevitably leads to pain. Not to mention we start restricting our Diaphragm making breathing less efficient…..and we all know how important diaphragmatic breathing is! We are altering our bodies’ optimum structure and your body won’t like it!
A simple tip in layman terms is to tighten up the back of your armpits! Feel that – those are your Latissimus Dorsi muscles, when we get stressed, slouch, these muscles ‘switch off’ because they are on a stretch in that position. Other muscles then have to work harder and an imbalance is created – basically we are training our shoulders to be in a higher position.
So, next time you are at your desk or you feel stressed, practise tightening up the back of your armpits 10 times, try this and do it often, let’s retrain those muscles to do the job they should and you will start to feel the stress release from your shoulders 🙂
We all know that stress increases our hormone cortisol and the negative effects that can have on our mind and bodies, so why don’t we make September our month to increase our happy hormones (Dopamine to name one)
Try this for 21 days and see how your stress improves as you change your hormones!
- Meditate for just 2 mins per day
- Write down 3 things that you are grateful for each day
- Hug someone for a minimum of 20 secs (that’s how long it takes for the hormones to release!) per day
Your happiness is in your hands, try it and get those happy hormones flowing!!