| Catherine |
 "I knew there was something wrong. Even though I didn’t actually feel ill, I was constantly aware of pain around my neck and shoulders..."
At first it was just when I was at work that I noticed it but soon it was affecting me all the time. I’d heard all the stuff about posture and how important it is to sit well in your chair at work, and about how stress can manifest itself particularly in the shoulders and neck, but I had never actually been helped to do anything about it.My job isn’t especially stressful. What gets to me the most is the pressure I put on myself, how much I expect from myself. I get angry & frustrated if I don’t feel that I’m doing the best I can do, or if I’m not being used to my full potential. I suppose there’s an element of control about it, but when you’re an employee not an employer of course you aren’t in complete control of what happens to you at work. It’s a new job and the pressures of adapting to a new work environment and different demands were clearly taking their toll. When I first started Relaxation for Living classes I could tell my teacher exactly where I was feeling the strain in my body. The muscles at the back of my neck and at the tops of my shoulders were rigid with tension. At first I found it very difficult to alter the way I sat and to remember to drop my shoulders, but after a couple of sessions my whole body was feeling positively floppy! Perhaps the biggest change, though, has been the breathing. I practise the breathing exercises every night and whenever I can at my desk or on the train and they give me an instant ‘calm-fix’. Now, instead of always thinking that everything at work isn’t going according to my plan and getting anxious and physically worked up about it, I take a minute or two to tell my body to relax, and I feel so much better. The muscles around my neck and shoulders are now soft – a sure sign, I’m told, that they are tension-free! The Relaxation for Living methods aren’t a quick-fix solution. They take time and practice, but when you crack them they really work! |
