The Power of Now As Related to Shoulders

Today I’ve been doing nothing at all. I haven’t even brushed any of the things you brush or washed any of the things you wash and it’s 11:11AM (I just Instagram storied the proof). I stink and really need a shower but I really want to talk right now instead. I’ve got a few things to share about me. You can just count on the fact that when I share anything it is about me even when it appears, I’m writing to help others. I couldn’t write a word if the words I write didn’t come from somewhere and they always come from the space I’m in when I write. So, today’s share is about two things, being present and my stiff shoulders.

I wrote about my shoulders on this blog a few times like here and here. Today is a little different.

I go walk in the park at lunch at Key Park when I’m in Lafayette. Lately I’ve begun to see that I am urging myself to go faster with my shoulders. I never noticed that I do this. These lunch time walks made me finally notice it. I do notice I keep my shoulders tense but I never took in the fact that I’m actually pushing my shoulders ahead of the rest of me from the urgency to finish what I’m doing. I know when I’m at the park I don’t have very long to get my walk in, so I’m always pushing myself forward with my shoulders instead of just allowing my shoulders to be present with the rest of my body. I know this may sound crazy to you but I think if you are person with shoulder tension, back tension or headaches you may do this too. When I notice that I’m doing it now I remind myself that I cannot send my shoulders out into the world to get me to where I need to go a quarter second before the rest of me. It does absolutely no good. I’ll then rest them and remind them as much as I need to that they can just enjoy being in the moment because all that extra work I have them doing is for nothing. It’s not just my walks in the park, I do it driving, walking into work, going out to eat, I just never stop doing it until I remind myself that I’m doing it. It is all part of not being present in the current moment and wanting to get to the next. When I finally understand I’m doing it again and remind myself to be present, pay attention to where I’m at and not where I think I need to be next, it so liberating. It helps me enjoy now, right now.