The Drama of Tension: What Your Body Is Trying to Tell You
Every great story has a protagonist and an antagonist. The opposing forces — good vs. evil, hero vs. villain — are what create the tension of the drama. Without that tension, the story would be boring.
And here's the thing: in good theatre — the kind that portrays reality rather than cartoonish comedy — no character thinks of themselves as wrong or evil. Every character believes they are the protagonist of their own story.
In anatomy, we use the same language. We talk about agonist and antagonist muscles. But these terms exist only to create a frame of reference. The tricep is the antagonist to the bicep when you're bending your elbow. But the bicep becomes the antagonist to the tricep when you're straightening the arm. It all depends on what you're trying to do.
Just like characters in a play, there are no "good" or "bad" muscles. Each one has a perfectly legitimate job — in the right context.
And yet so often we think of areas of tension or pain as the enemy.
"I have a bad back." "My shoulders always give me trouble."
The first shift: start thinking of every part of your body as always trying its best to do its job. The tension isn't betraying you. It's working for you — just perhaps too hard.
Because here's what can happen: certain parts of the body take on more responsibility than they were designed to handle. And like a dedicated protagonist who has been holding the story together, an overworked muscle doesn't readily stand down when help arrives — even when that help is well-intentioned.
Let's work through an example.
Your back hurts. You hear that you need to strengthen your core. So you do core exercises and tighten those abs. That might be part of the solution — but what you may not realize is that your back muscles have already taken on the job of stabilizing your body. Now the core muscles are pulling in another direction.
So what do the hardworking back muscles do? They work harder. They tighten more.
You respond with more core work.
And the struggle between opposing forces continues.
The point is this: fighting tension with an opposing force of tension rarely works — in the body or in life.
Instead, first seek to understand why the tension is there. What job is it doing? What message is it carrying? Then find ways to give that part of your body permission to relax. Make it feel safe.
When you've learned to release chronic tension from one area — say, the lower back — you can begin to relearn to move, allowing other parts, like the core, to step in and do their job naturally. You don't have to force it. The body knows what to do. Once given the chance, the right balance of tension happens on its own. The protagonist and antagonist stop fighting and start working together — for the good of your whole self.
To recap:
Recognize where the tension is
Acknowledge that it's a part of you dutifully trying to do its job
Ask yourself what that job is — and whether there's a message in it for you
Do what you can to attend to that message
Create space for that part to relax, feel safe, and let go of its excessive work
Begin to move in a new way, trusting that your body as a whole knows what to do
Working with the body this way can also serve as a metaphor for how we navigate life. I'd love to hear — can you think of examples of how this might apply?
And if you'd like some hands-on guidance learning to release tension and build healthier, more balanced ways of moving, I'd love to help. Feel free to book a free Alignment Wayfinding session.
All the best,
Patrick