Photo by Matheus Bertelli on Pexels.com

Are you dealing with constant tension in your body? … Have you considered that you might be living out of alignment with who you truly are. Could you be living an inauthentic life?

These are powerful questions that came up as I was revisiting John J. Prendergast’s book: In Touch How to Tune in to the Inner Guidance of Your Body and Trust Yourself. (Highly recommended for seekers, meditators and yogis)

Our body is a powerful teacher about how we live our lives. It stores trauma and joy and everything in between. When we tune into the sensations in our body we can begin to not only release the tension but become more open, authentic and true to ourselves.

“Tension is inevitable when we live a lie and try to appear different from how we actually are. We don’t want to appear vulnerable or needy. We don’t trust that we are fundamentally enough as we are, even with our struggles and shortcomings.

We compensate outwardly by trying to do things that will prove our value to others. We also edit our self image as we describe our life to ourselves and others – the image maintenance project.

Often, this habit becomes so automatic that we are unaware of it. We unknowingly adopt a mask and mistake it for our real face, assuming that our chronically tense and armored body is natural. It is normal, but it isn’t natural.”

Natural is about feeling in balance, nourished and connected to ourselves.

25 comments on “Authenticity and Tension

  1. When we find both sides of those swings in life we will indeed find that ‘middle ground’ young lady and balanced we will be. Great post 😀 ❤️ 🙏🏼 🦋

    Liked by 1 person

  2. So true! The key is to find balance, I guess.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. I like the phrase “the image maintenance project”…
    I’ve certainly been guilty …

    Liked by 1 person

  4. That is an interesting perspective! I did not think of tension in this way.

    Liked by 1 person

  5. I too perked up at the phrase – the image maintenance project – such an apt descriptor of what happens too often when I’m trying to ‘be’ some way/thing I’m not.

    Great post Val. Thanks!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. “It is normal…” That says it all. Why would people change if it’s the norm?

    Liked by 1 person

    • It may be their norm, but its not natural for humans. Some people are ready to go beyond what they take for granted, and explore a different way of being.

      Like

  7. Thank you for sharing your wisdom Val. Wonderful post! ❤

    Liked by 1 person

  8. “Our body is a powerful teacher about how we live our lives.” So true! Thanks for sharing, Val.

    Like

  9. Here’s to shedding our image maintenance masks so we can be ourselves . . . au naturel!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Beautiful post Val. I know what it’s like to live out of balance and go on as if it’s normal and never feeling good but just surviving. What a difference when you awake up and take control and seek a balance way of living.

    Liked by 2 people

  11. I remember when I was a child, living in the most untenable circumstances … and I did somatize the anger and fear and violence … and I did exhibit strange symptoms which sent me to the doctor in search of help. And the catchphrase back then was ‘it’s nothing. Just psychosomatic.’ And they dismissed all of it. But you and I both know how interrelated psyche and soma are! What a blessed relief to come to a stage in life where I can validate my own Being and take care to live within my own frequency amidst all this collective fear, these days. Being in the body. Caring for this precious physical gift. Good post, Val. Aloha.

    Liked by 1 person

  12. Thanks so much for this reminder, Val. I needed that! A great tension buster. 🙂♥️

    Like

I'd love to hear from you ...