How stress and pain create internal scaffolding to protect you

You may or may not have heard of the term “muscle guarding” or “muscle armoring” or “body armoring,” but almost everyone has experienced it at one point or another.

It takes place when muscles are involuntarily tightened, or partially contracted, and it often happens as a result of pain, anticipated pain, stress, or trauma.

When you have an argument with your partner and find that your back feels tight or tense afterward, that’s muscle armoring. When your boss tells you that you’re not living up to your job expectations and you find yourself clenching your jaw, that’s it too. Or when you want to play with your kids, but your knee with an old injury locks up. Muscle armoring can take place due to trauma and can be especially troublesome if that trauma occurred during childhood.

What’s really happening when your body arms up?

Believe it or not, this is a protective mechanism. This armoring takes place outside of our awareness and is not something that can usually be controlled by willing it away. It’s the body’s wisdom stepping in to protect you, helping you brace for what’s to come (or what might come), even when that protection causes chronic pain.

Think of it like your body building an internal weight-bearing scaffolding that holds you together in power and strength creating an energetic structure so that you can stand firm against challenges that come your way.

This system is designed to be used short-term to deal with immediate threats. But our modern lives, filled with non-stop stimulation, environmental toxins, late-stage capitalism related-problems, systemic racism, an ongoing global pandemic, lack of reproductive rights (and on and on…), primes us to stay in a state of chronic alertness and chronic stress from any source can create body armoring. If not addressed, over time body armoring will lead to a weakening of the muscles, chronic pain, and/or illness.

On a physical level, the body is preparing to be attacked. If those muscles are already partially engaged, you’re able to respond to physical threats faster than if you were in a relaxed state. It also turns down the volume of physical sensations so that they don’t register with their full intensity. Super helpful if you’re in a fight for your life. Not so much if you’re dealing with a conflict with your best friend or your romantic interest.

Another common response is a tension that results in raising our shoulders (totally guilty of this myself!), which is thought to be a survival mechanism to make ourselves look bigger. Think of the cat who arches their back and whose fur stands up on end when threatened by a growling dog.

Or if you’ve had physical trauma, like an injury or surgery, your body may induce guarding because it’s trying to prevent the tissue from further injury by immobilization. This usually happens to large joints like the shoulder, hip, and knees. This can happen even years after the original injury and when the tissue is completely healed.

On an emotional level, a few things are happening.

First - body armoring decreases emotional expression, which might explain why so many people hold tension in their jaws and mouth areas. It keeps us from exploding in rage at the office. It keeps us from having a complete breakdown where we might not be able to drive to the grocery store.

If that wasn’t enough, it also guards us against fully experiencing our own emotions, so that we can function after someone hurts us with words or actions. It provides protection from the emotions of others and from your own emotional responses. When you’re going through a tough time - someone you love is very sick or you’re going through a huge life change like a divorce or moving across the country - the world still demands that you continue to show up for work, pay your bills, wash your dishes, and take care of those who you are responsible for. Body armoring makes that possible.

It also provides a shield against hurtful words or actions from others. One way that we are able to go about our daily lives is that the body takes on the emotions as tension so that you can keep going.

You may also find that body armoring can happen due to repeated, ruminating thoughts that tend to be circular and don’t resolve. Again these can be outside of conscious awareness or partially outside of awareness. Thoughts like “I’m not good enough” or “I mess everything up” or “I don’t deserve INSERT THING HERE.”

How do you address body armoring?

Although body armoring may be totally involuntary, there are ways to address it. There are many effective ways of de-armoring the body. Here are a couple of examples.

Shake it out

One simple exercise that you can do at home is called Shaking Qi Gong. All mammals have a shaking instinct, but we more “civilized” humans sometimes forget this powerful practice. This video will show you exactly how it’s done.

Slow down, tune in

Another technique, which can feel anti-intuitive, is to tune into your body’s sensations. It’s similar to meditation in that it’s a non-judgemental noticing done with a sense of curiosity. This noticing brings you into the present moment and opens up a line of communication between the brain and body, which might give you valuable information and insight into why your body has gone into protection mode.

It can also interpret the pattern as it’s happening, preventing further armoring. If you’re in a lot of pain or the sensations are too intense, this might not be the path for you at the moment. And this exercise is sometimes best done with the help of a trained practitioner.

The best time to address armoring is now

Treating body armoring sooner rather than later can prevent pain and chronic illness down the road. Addressing it now is a kindness that you give to yourself. A nod to acknowledge your body’s wisdom, gratitude for its protection, and a dedication to loving and honoring yourself.

If you’d like to learn more about how we can work together, please reach out or leave a comment below.