While the bodies of young children are usually relaxed and flexible, if experiences of fear are continuous over the years, chronic tightening happens. Our shoulders may become permanently knotted and raised, our head thrust forward, our back hunched, our chest sunken. Rather than a temporary reaction to danger, we develop a permanent suit of armor. We become, as Chogyam Trungpa puts it, a bundle of tense muscles defending our existence. We often dont even recognize this armor because it feels like such a familiar part of who we are. But we can see it in others. And when we are meditating, we can feel it in ourselvesthe tightness, the areas where we feel nothing.
About This Quote
About Tara Brach
Tara Brach was a contemporary American psychologist and author. Tara Brach is an American psychologist, author, and proponent of Buddhist meditation. She is a senior teacher and founder of the Insight Meditation Community of Washington, D.C. Read more on Wikipedia →
Themes
- Fear — Understanding and overcoming the anxieties that hold us back