What would you do if your job consisted of 12, 18 even 24 hours of pointless busy work?  Would you not do a good job, working efficiently?  Would you go on strike?  Would you tell your boss where to put it and out-right quit?  Why would you want to waste your hard work, brainpower and skill on unnecessary tasks???

Now.  Think about your toes.  Yes, your toes.  Since you are reading this newsletter, I am going to assume that you are sitting.  Therefore, your toes are not presently necessary for balance, or propulsion.  So then, are they relaxed?  Give them a wiggle and then try to totally relax them.  Ahhhhh.  Next, move to your feet and so on, all the way to your head.

The contraction or tone of a muscle can have many different variables.  Stress, injury, personality, hydration, nutrition and neurological conditions are among the many factors when considering muscle tone. Most of these factors are beyond your mental control.  One that can be affected by thought, however, can play a big role in your overall muscle tone and when left unchecked can contribute to hyper-tonicity and muscle dysfunction.  Unnecessary muscle contraction is the act of engaging a muscle that is not required for the action at hand.

Now, think about your toes…  As you check your body for unnecessary muscle contraction, you may be surprised at how many muscles you are “holding”.  Getting them to relax and STAY relaxed can be quite a challenge. How long to you think this has been going on?  It has probably been going on longer that you would expect. So, be patient with yourself as you re-train these muscles to relax.  Check yourself periodically and you will be surprised at how those muscles will begin contracting again without you being aware of it.  Continue to practice relaxing.

When a muscle “behaves” a certain way over extended periods of time, this behavior becomes normal for that muscle.  When this happens it can create pain in the muscle from over-use and fatigue.  The result from pain can be a spasm in the muscle.  Unlike unnecessary muscle contraction, a muscle spasm is an involuntary muscle contraction.  This often creates a pain-spasm-pain cycle, which usually requires some sort of intervention, such as massage, to break. Computer work is an action that can be a good example of unnecessary muscle contraction.  When doing so, you only need to be primarily moving your fingers and wrists.  Most often, however, we find ourselves involving our neck and shoulders whether it is due to improper ergonomics, intensity or stress.  This is unnecessary “busy work” for your muscles, which often results in muscle spasms in the neck upper back and shoulders and the pain that accompanies it.

So, think about your toes.  Are they considering going on strike?  What about the rest of you???  Keep checking yourself and practicing relaxation…

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