I had an interesting experience last night. I was struggling with lightheadedness which remains my most troublesome symptom. Laying down to go to sleep did not resolve it and neither did sleeping itself: I woke up 90 mins later from it. Ug.

I was impatient to get some kind of improvement without having to wait for a medical appointment. I decided to focus on relaxation. So that's what I did for several minutes. Maybe 20. I wasn't really tracking the time.

I kept willing and imagining that my neck was relaxing. Because I was inspired by my problem, my focus was excellent. To my surprise it was the scm muscle that relaxed the most. The amount of tension that it released was amazing. Maybe the largest muscular tension release I've ever felt.

Then I could feel my pulse in the left side of my face and then in my left scalp. (The left is my symptomatic side.) And then some pressure in the head. It was slightly unpleasant but I was happy to feel it because I knew what it meant: the lightheadedness was gone. I sat up; still gone. I stood up; still gone.

I went back to sleep and got some serious rest. Yay!

I don't know why I hold so much tension in my neck area. Even now it keeps coming back. Is it:

-- Mental stress?

-- An old mental habit?

-- A body problem like impinged nerves?

Any thoughts?

Also, I would be interested to hear about other symptomatic people trying muscle relaxation for 20 mins and what impact it has on you.

relaxation like this have a huge impact on neck problem. Try it all you will see

Just think about nothing for 20 minutes

my left trap used to clamp up in social anxiety type situations at work

now its the back of my neck. i need to work on this, but its hard in public..in the moment..

what do you do? breathe? are you lying down/sitting up?

easier said than done!

In the case I described, I was already laying down and simply stayed there. In general, your body position does not really matter. Well posture does, whether you're meditating or not.

Mindful breathing is great in general, but for getting rid of clenching and tension in my neck, I get the most mileage out of putting my awareness there and then either willing the area to relax or imagining that it is relaxing. I tend to alternate between the two.

I've also been trying to be mindful during the day to "check and release" any tension anywhere, but especially in the TOS related areas.

Even now I still clench my neck and traps and have to remind myself to release them. It's strange.

Sharon Butler has a relaxation audio included with her TOS program also.

["Welcome to Earth: Scanning Your Body" Meditation Audio
This 19 Minute Audio will guide you on a relaxing journey through your body, helping you to become more aware of sensations.]
http://www.selfcare4rsi.com/thoracic...rder-page.html

you might be able to find similar ones @ your library.
Or even on you tube videos.

are any of you able to breathe through your diaphragm while sitting up

Yes, I took a lot of singing classes in school so I learned how to do it then.

Yes. This form of breathing is considered natural (it's how babies breath), healthy and a component of relaxation. I presume you've heard some of that since you're asking about it.

There are a ton of pages and videos on the topic. If you search "how to belly breathe" or "diaphragmatic breathing how to" you will get plenty of hits.

If you practice daily, it will come to you.

yeah it is sorry lazy typist

i need to work on that, right now all of my energy is in just getting me to sit up. i feel as tho if someone taps me ill just fall over. i definitely need more muscles and oxygen.