People of all ages suffer from chronic tension and pain due to their daily movements and postural habits, even when they may be otherwise healthy. We may assume we’re fine when we’re not in pain, often viewing recurring tension as an unavoidable stress response instead of investigating it and seeking understanding. In the meantime, a misused or overused muscle can be a catastrophe ready to happen especially when we are under stress.

Fortunately, this pain can be avoided when we seek clarity about where it really comes from, discover how to let go of the movement patterns causing it, and learn to cooperate with our body wisdom guidance instead of trying to muscularly correct the body. Through this process leading to better integrated functioning, it’s actually possible to gain sustainable results when dealing with chronic tension or pain.

Integrated functioning happens when our innate body intelligence is in charge and all body parts work well together. It’s something that comes naturally to children, yet for adults with acquired habits, it must be consciously embodied.

The persistent nature of tension or pain is caused, more often than not, by a lack of integrated functioning, which creates or triggers the pain, thus feeding its chronic nature.

Over time, body parts no longer work well together because some muscles have become accustomed to being misused or overused. Basically, integrated functioning has become compromised through repetitive off-centered habits. This decline happens progressively; so sometimes, it’s hard to perceive the change.

Common off-centered habits can stem from personal or professional repeated movements like carrying a bag or child on the same shoulder or hip, slouching on the couch daily, leaning on the same elbow while at the computer or consistently favoring one body part or positioning in daily activities. As adults, we tend to live in our head more often than not and we let our mind tell our body how to move as if it knew better than our body intelligence. This is especially true with posture and exercise.

For instance, we’ve been told to lift our chest and pull our shoulders back to straighten up, only to slouch again within seconds. This is neither comfortable nor natural and creates both excess tension and compression. Good posture is not about positioning; it’s the expression of a body that functions naturally in an integrated way. It’s not about doing it the right way, it’s about discovering and unlearning old interfering habits. The more adults develop educated body awareness, the less they engage in habits not serving them, and the natural way does itself.

Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Listen to the whispers of your body, so it doesn’t need to yell out loud.” This advice is key to reversing the growing trend of chronic tension or pain coming from a lack of integrated functioning. As people discover the underlying habits fueling their pain and learn how to activate their body intelligence to cooperate with its guidance, they can reclaim the well-being of their integrated self. Progressively, pain can fade away without the need for medication and the chronic nature of tension or pain can be reduced, completely eliminated or, eventually, prevented.