Yiiiikkkkkeeees!!
You’re home alone on a dark and windy night. Thunder rumbles and your dark front yard is brightly lit by flashes of lightning. Suddenly a loud bang shakes your house and you jump out of your chair.
Your heart races, your breath quickens and your quads engage in a fight, flight, or freeze fear response. You are on high alert to protect yourself from the perceived danger.
A moment later you hear the bang again and realize it’s the trash can. It blew over and is hitting against the house with each gust of wind.
You drop back into your chair trembling. Your whole body has the jitters.
Your Quadricep Muscles
When you are in fear your quadricep muscles tense up to get you out of there, engage in a fight or freeze you into stillness. They are helping you to survive. The shaking after a fright is meant to help release your muscle tension.
But, you may be stuck in a terrifying event and keep re-experiencing it with flashbacks, nightmares, anxiety and obsessing about the event. That happens because of anticipation. Once you go through a frightful experience your mind and body anticipate it will happen again and it chronically grips your quads to stay ready for it.
You don’t even have to experience the traumatic event to feel the fear. You can read about it or see it on TV, film or in social media. For example, the majority of people who are afraid to fly have never been in a plane crash. The anticipation of experiencing a crash keeps their quads tight.
Let go of your fear response
Release your fight flight or freeze fear responses with this week’s Ageless Quad Opening Movement Practice. You’ll feel so much relief and your body will begin to relax. This practice will help with PTSD, phobias and take pain and pressure off your lower back.
Start moving your fear response out with this simple practice: A Softball Sized Ball In Your Quads
Lie on your belly and take a softball sized ball to the inside of your right hip bone. Roll into your pubic bone and pull back to your hip bone and you’ll feel a zingy sensation you’ve just found your iliopsoas muscle (the fear muscle). Breathe in through your nose and say “Haaaaa” as you exhale. Breathing in new energy and breathing out fear.
Roll down that zingy iliopsoas muscle to the top of your right leg. Keep rolling down into your right quadriceps (the fear response muscles). You may need to switch to a swimming pool noodle if the softball is too intense. Keep rocking and rolling down the top of your thigh all the way to your right knee.
When you find knots of tension stay on them and breathe out your fear response toward other people and things outside of you. Breathe in love!
Switch sides
Take a softball sized ball to the inside of your left hip bone. Roll into your pubic bone and pull back to your hip bone and you’ll feel a zingy sensation you’ve just found your iliopsoas muscle (the fear muscle). Breathe in through your nose and say “Haaaaa” as you exhale. Breathing in new energy and breathing out fear.
Roll down that zingy iliopsoas muscle to the top of your left leg. Keep rolling down into your left quadriceps (the fear response muscles). You may need to switch to a swimming pool noodle if the softball is too intense. Keep rocking and rolling down the top of your thigh all the way to your left knee.
When you find knots of tension stay on them and breathe out the fear response toward yourself and your inner world. Breathe in love!
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