Of trigger points and pain and such <3

I have had a tight spot in my upper back for several days and when I mentioned it to a friend today she said both she and her husband were experiencing pain in the exact same spot.

We marveled that all three of us had this same localized pain and, being prone to extremely imaginative hypochondriac tendencies, I began formulating possible viruses and bizarre scenarios of how this could be.

And then another friend came by who happens to be a nurse and when we described it to her, she nodded her head knowingly and informed us that area is called a trigger point; a centralized area where many nerves and muscles come together and sometimes these get knotted up causing the painful condition we were experiencing.

She explained that it needed pressure to work out the tightened muscles and associated nerves and suggested a few ways to accomplish that.

It occurs to me that I have trigger points in my emotions as well.

Places where there is a high concentration of collected memories and the feelings associated with them that when tweaked by everyday circumstances can render me debilitated by unexpected discomfort.

Something will trigger a fresh awareness of some emotions I think I have moved beyond and suddenly I am basically sidelined from being productive as I struggle with fresh waves of old wounds.

Suddenly I have a tight ball of pain that is taking up all of my time and attention; causing me to lose focus on anything beyond my personal discomfort.

Entering the holidays can set off just such a situation as my expectations for time with family and friends, plus memories from the past and realities of what life looks like now collide with a calendar that steadily fills up with commitments or…just as difficult…remains somewhat empty.

One of the suggestions made to me regarding loosening this area in my back was to raise my arms like a goal post and take deep breaths as I open up the chest area. (Thank you to Sarah for that one).

I have been thinking that this same posture most likely could be applied to my emotional trigger points as we begin this roller coaster holiday season that will end 2017.

Raise my hands…in surrender.

Open wide my heart…to allow God to enter in and direct all activities.

Breathe deeply….let His Spirit flow into me as I release all my emotions and feelings in one big exhale.

How about you?

What’s the trigger point in your soul?

What is that set of circumstances where your thoughts can get commandeered by your emotions and feelings and you can feel it all tightening into a rock hard place of tension and pain?

Perhaps if you find yourself getting balled up in a mood today or this week, you might try raising your arms and inhaling deeply as you release everything to the One who holds it all together all the time <3