Under Pressure - More Than Metaphor
Tuesday, August 5, 2008 at 07:00PM | 4 Comments 
As I've been hobnobbing lately with women immersed in businesses dealing with organization and time management, I began to reflect on the nature of pressure, and how we experience this expression of stress in our culture, and how I would view this condition through a shiatsu lens.
There are many styles and systems to choose from created for the intention of taming the external causes of pressure... new, and tried and true ways to approach the continual influx of stuff and information, as well as that disparity between so much to do and so few hours.
But what about our internal experience of pressure?
I mean, when we perceive that we are being overwhelmed by what life is throwing at us, or by what we are allowing in, either by intention or default, doesn't the word 'pressure' accurately describe what we physically feel, and more than just metaphorically? It's like a feeling of the world bearing down, of a hindered ability to breathe... a closing in, a sense of limited mobility and a lack of options. Yes?
Our bodies, as is true with practically all of our mental and emotional states, express what is going on in our heads. And likewise, our moods and perspectives are directly affected by how our bodies feel. In a state of pressure, we literally contract and become smaller and more compact. It doesn't matter which came first... physical, emotional, and mental conditions feed off each other, unless we can interrupt the feedback loop, and consciously introduce a new way of being.
Fortunately, it really doesn't take too much of an effort to effect this change. For one thing, we can just change scenery. Get up, get outside... introduce a sense of expansion. Stretch, breathe, move a little. Get bodywork. This will provide some temporary, but immediate relief.
Tune in again this week for more on pressure and tips for creating a greater sense of expansion and relief.
Reader Comments (4)
Wow. This is a topic near and dear to my heart - as I put so much pressure on myself for things to go a certain way. I'm still not evolved enough to realize that I can't control the Universe... I swore they promised me ultimate control before I incarnated... LOL!!! Totally kidding!
I'm just slightly Type A about certain things (I know - right? Me? Type A?!?). And I find that when things aren't working out exactly as I hoped, I start to squeeze myself into this internal box. I squeeze and squeeze and squeeze until somehow, I just don't have enough room and something has to give... usually in the form of a hissy fit of some sort... just to let some of the pressure out.
Anyway, lately, my relief has come in the form of hiking or biking. Something about being immersed in an expanse of nature helps me remember to practice spaciousness.
Just remembering to be spacious reminds me that there is something bigger than me here... and usually when that happens, I release enough to let in some Divine Guidance and get new ideas or see new possibilities.
Thanks for starting this series Gina! This post is perfect to kick off my morning meditation today!
Oh, but Jenn, you DO have ultimate control! It's just a matter of knowing over what. And really, it's about having control over the we respond, the way we perceive. The stuff happening around us is just stuff. We put values and expectations and meaning on it, and then we respond to it based on whatever our stories are.
But, yes, I like the idea of getting out into nature, and feeling its expansiveness. Plus the chemicals released by exercising shifts the way we think as well.. good 'ol endorphins.
One of the stress relievers I take full advantage of is the massage therapist that comes to our office twice a month to do chair massages for the office building. $30 for 30 minutes seems to be a great bargain for the well-being and relief it brings me.
I look forward to reading the rest of this series.
Yes, Terresa.. the corporate world seems to have gotten wise to the fact that less-stressed employees are happier employees... better for the environment all round! in my opinion, this offering should be universal...part of the health benefits in offices, schools, hospitals.. everywhere!