Self – Inquiry & Tension Knots – Dealing with the Roots of Tension and Hypertension

Dealing with the Roots of Tension and Hypertension

This is a suggested method of untangling the body feelings and pent up emotions that sometimes form “tension knots” somewhere in the body. When these “tension knots” build up or pile up, IMHO , they can morph into hypertension .

……. This is in no way meant to replace medication, daily exercise etc. , but rather to begin a positive process of looking for the source(s) of that tension. Many times, these sources can be buried so deep that we cannot sort them out…… but the “tension knots” in our body “know” that whole story…. and these “tension knots” are evident….. this is a way of resolving them…..

When one of these “tension centers” or “tension knots” fall away, and along with it the associated storyline we have been “clinging to”, the experience of it can be truly amazing and freeing…. Yet, this is an ongoing “exploration”, peeling away the causes of our tension in our lives.

I myself have a history of hypertension, and this method has REALLY worked for me consistently ……and continues to work for me…..

This is not some new mysterious methodology….. it comes from various self-inquiry methods….. but many times, the process isn’t explained very well… so i am trying to cut to the root of it with these simple “instructions”, to show what has worked for me.

It is important to note that every persons “inner panacea” or “inner world” is different, so the analogies need to be altered if need be, so they “are completely your own”.

The best times to practice this, is when your stress is very evident, or you are feeling overwhelmed. This is because when a certain “tension knot” is “active” and “obvious”, it is easier to pinpoint it.

We are going to focus on that tension (one at a time). We are not going to run from it, nor suppress it…..

Okay, here we go…………. (you may want to copy these notes and print them out…. and i am providing a PDF to save and print out if you wish to do so)

Find a quiet place, perhaps your favourite place. It may be laying down, it may be sitting, and it may be at your computer where you can write things down. It may be with your cellphone handy with the recorder ready……

1. Sit or lay quietly, and focus on your breath entering and leaving your nostrils.
2. BREATHE, and RELAX with each breath….. if you are feeling tense, you will notice that a place of tension or anxiety becomes evident, as your body quiets down.
3. LOCATE that place in your body where this tension knot seems to be centered, and “sense” how it feels. Pay close attention to it..

Keep breathing quietly, feeling your breath going in and out of your nostrils.

4. ASK this tension knot to NAME itself, or find a word which seems to best characterize its feeling.
5. TREAT this tension as a “person”… kindly and compassionately, as a close friend, or an “inner child”…… ASK that person (by the name you named it if need be) to pour out its story to you… to pour out its pent up emotions, discouragements or its story of hurt and pain…..

(IMPORTANT NOTE: If there is something inside of you which feels that this process is “dumb”, or “foolish”, or conveys the sense of “this will never work!”, please answer “That feeling person” saying “Well, lets try this once, and see what it does”……. what i am saying is, that sometimes we may have an inner person who scorns us into not trying the very thing which might help us…. so you may find yourself dealing with this “inner doubt” person first….. in the same fashion as we are going to try to deal with our tension knots above…..)

6. Encourage this “Friend” to pour out its story, along with all its pain….. “cry it out” with this “Friend”.
7. When you sense that this “person” has finished this outpouring, Ask kindly if their story is true… or is it something that might have been blown out of proportion or exaggerated…… Let the feeling be clear about its legitimacy.
8. Keeping a very clear sense of this feelings “LOCATION”, ask that “Friend” if it might just simply let go of this hurt and pain.
9. If this “Friend” seems willing, then “Open your hand of kindness, and “physically” let go of this pain and its associated tension knot.
10. Pay attention to the tension knot, and “feel” if it has let go……. If so, note what has happened…. if not, continue to ask into it…… sometimes these feelings “need some time”…..
11. You will have a true sense of how this process has worked so you can alter it to suit “Whatever Works.” for you.

You may find that as soon as one knot releases, another becomes evident, and you may just want to continue on to the next one.

One last IMPORTANT NOTE – We have all had successes and failures in our lives, and because of this experience, we often doubt that some new idea is REALLY going to work. We feel that “it is a waste of time”…. “Tried it before and…” etc. It is important that if you DO have a true “dropping off” of a tension, that you take a break from the process for a day or so, and let your brain adjust to that tension knot being gone…… It WILL be obvious, from an almost EUPHORIC feeling, that something wonderful has occurred…. SO GIVE IT A DAY OR SO TO SETTLE IN….. I have found that a new “felt sense” settles in over the course of several days after one of these “tension knots” falls away.