Relaxed Posture

So I remember listening to Claire Weekes' audio book, "Pass Through Panic", that the first step to improving your anxiety levels is to take note of your posture. Are you sitting with your arms and legs all wrapped around yourself? Are you hunched over like my grandmother?

She said you need to open up your posture and sit or stand in a relaxed manner.

So I was looking at some pictures of myself from the last couple months, and I am so hunched over!

I realized that I have been pulling my shoulders up around my ears for months!

So the last couple days I have been reminding myself to constantly relax my shoulders, which is bringing my posture back to what it was. It has made such a difference!

Now I am almost recovered, but I think this might help even earlier in recovery.

It reminds me of one of the meditation MP3s I have where the guy says "Now Smile" and darned if it doesn't make you feel happier, even if you didn't feel like smiling at the time.

Weird.

Anyways, Hope this helps someone else.

-Tanya

Thanks for the helpful post, Tanya.  I have also experienced feeling better just from paying attention to my posture and breathing as well as have my mood improved by making myself smile.  There really is a fair amount we can do to help ourselves when we know how. 

that's totally true, Tanya. When I walk straight up, with my head up high and notice each step I take, I feel better.

when I had a massage a couple of years ago, I suddenly realized that my muscles were so tense - no wonder I'm so stressed!