The 5 Places You're Holding Stress in Your Body (& How to Release It)

We're living in a time of high stress. According to a study shared by the American Psychological Association, the percentage of adults reporting high stress levels has increased, and women are more likely than men to report high stress levels. With political uncertainties rising, it feels there's a new executive order to stress about every day. Those who care about good humans being targeted because of their cultural background, or people simply loving who they love, or losing our beautiful public lands, or our private information being unlawfully accessed, or our education system being dismantled, or our bodies and history being regulated, or books being banned... (you get the picture) are holding this stress in our bodies. Friend, this stress is not yours to carry within, for it will only make you unwell. So here are five places you're likely holding stress in your body, and how to release it.

1) The Neck & Shoulders

Physical: When we're tense, our shoulders rise up toward our ears and curl forward to protect our chest. Our breathing gets more shallow as the muscles of our upper back and shoulders constrict. Our necks hold the tension of our poor posture and non-ergonomic device usage. In the years when I had my massage therapy office, tension in this area was the most common complaint received.

Emotional: We often hold tension in our necks from an imbalanced throat chakra... meaning we are either not speaking our truth, feel we have no voice, or we're over-communicating without holding space to listen. Our shoulders can grow tired and sore from feeling as though we're carrying the weight of the world upon them. We also might constrict our shoulder movements as we try to protect our heart chakras, the energy center that governs how we give and receive love.

2) The Jaw

Physical: The tension may be radiating up from the connecting tissues in your neck. These muscles are all interconnected and stress can be held in both. Another common reason you're feeling stress in your jaw is that you may be clenching your jaw either during waking hours or unknowingly clenching and grinding as you sleep at night.

Emotional: The jaw is also associated with the throat chakra. If you find yourself clenching your jaw, you may also notice that you have emotions and beliefs unexpressed. Perhaps you feel you're in an environment where you're unable to share your truth or know your feelings may not be respected. Your jaw may be storing repressed trauma or part of your story you don't feel safe to share.

3) The Chest

Physical: As mentioned with our neck and shoulders, our breathing can also impact how the tissues and organs of the chest feel. When anxious and shallow breathing, our chest may hold physical tension in the muscles but we may also experience this stress in our heart. High levels of stress can cause heart palpitations, high blood pressure, and even lead to conditions such as heart attack, stroke, or heart failure.

Emotional: The chest houses the essential energy center of the heart. If storing stress in the chest, you may feel a tightness tied to emotional blockages or a need for self-reflection. The heart chakra energy center is associated with love, compassion, and emotional well-being. If any of these are out of alignment, it may manifest as chest discomfort or pain.

4) The Stomach & Digestive System

Physical: Stress hormones disrupt our digestion which can lead to stomach aches, indigestion, bloating, and even Irritable Bowel Syndrome. If in a life-or-death situation, our digestive system slows wayyy down so that our energy resources can be reserved for saving our life. The tricky thing is, many of us are operating within stress levels that have our bodies believing we are constantly in a life-or-death situation.

Emotional: Chronic stress, anxiety, and depression can negatively impact the digestive system... and digestive problems can lead to emotional distress. This can create quite the uncomfortable cycle. The Gut-Brain connection is the incredible communication between the gastrointestinal tract and the central nervous system. Poor digestion and imbalanced gut microbiota have been linked especially to anxiety and depression. The digestive system is also especially linked with the solar plexus chakra, which governs our sense of personal power, transformation, and the processing of challenging situations with confidence.

5) The Head

Physical: One of the most often overlooked areas of stress holding is the head. I used to enjoy giving thorough scalp massages at the end of a massage therapy treatment and watching my clients nearly melt into the table. It was also the area I'd hear the most surprise about with clients sharing, "I had no idea my head was holding so much tension." Or, on the flip side, I'd have people come to me specifically because of the tension headaches they were experiencing from their high stress levels. When we are stressed it can also be harder to concentrate and we may experience challenges focusing.

Emotional: Head tension, mental fog, and headaches can be linked to imbalance of the third eye and/or crown chakras. These energy centers are associated with intuition and spiritual connection. When we are stressed, we are worrying about what is happening in the world without tuning in to our intuition. There are many distractions that keep us focused on our fears rather than following our spiritual guidance and the voice of our intuition.

So What Do We Do?

We're aware of our high stress levels, and you may have even been able to narrow in on where you're storing your tension most physically and emotionally. So now what?

You know your body best dear friend, take time to tune in and ask what your incredible body is asking you for. More gentle movement? A less processed, more balanced diet? More water? Self massage? More playful fun and creative expression? Less news and doom-scrolling? Regular connecting with nature. More quality time with loved ones? Less ruminating on worst case scenarios? Taking up a positive mind-body practice such as yoga, Tai chi, or meditation? Learning how to be more mindfully present?

Whatever your body is asking for, you are certainly capable of supporting it in lowering your stress levels and improving your own quality of life! You're not alone on this journey, and I'm here to help. Be sure to check out the wonderful new resource I've created to support you, the Meditation & Mindfulness MiniCourse for Moms, which includes simple techniques to integrate meditation into your busy life, my Chakra Basics eBook, mindfulness prompts, and so much more.

I'm honored to support you in feeling more peaceful, joyful, and well. May our peace, wellness & joy nurtured within radiate out into the world around us.

Healing & Peace,

Ashley Kay