"My shoulders are always tense."
"Even after a massage, my neck quickly becomes stiff again."
When I touch the bodies of such individuals, I sense a tension as if they are desperately trying to hold themselves up, preventing themselves from falling. It's a state where the brain constantly issues commands to the muscles, thinking, "I must firmly support myself."
The Brain's Overconfidence in "Supporting"
We live within the immense force of gravity. Ideally, the body should simply surrender to the Earth, yet when thoughts become excessive, we try to control everything with "our own strength (logic)."
Even with a detailed medical analysis of neck and shoulder muscles, it cannot unravel the "brain's habit of perpetually striving." What is needed is to divest the brain of its "supporting" authority and pass the baton to the body's inherent sensors.
Practice: Entrusting 100kg from the Occiput
This practice is most effective when performed just before sleep, on your futon or bed.
Sensing the Contact Surface
Lie on your back and focus your awareness on the "single point" where the back of your head (occiput) touches the futon or bed. This is your point of contact with the Earth.
Relinquishing "Support"
As you slowly exhale, visualize this:
"My head will now become 100 kilograms heavy."
Completely abandon the effort of supporting yourself with your muscles, and simply surrender the entire 100kg weight to the futon (Earth).
Observing the Sinking Sensation
Observe intently the sensation of that single point at the back of your head sinking deeply into the futon under its weight. The brain's task is not "to think about how to relax," but rather "to simply witness the sensation of sinking."
The Weight Propagates from Shoulders to Fingertips
As the tension in your occiput releases, the weight will sequentially propagate to your shoulders, elbows, and then your fingertips. Experience the sensation of your body parts not existing separately, but integrating with the Earth as one "heavy mass."
Overwriting Thought with "Gravity"
The moment your body's sensors confirm, "There's no need to support," the brain's commands for tension in the neck and shoulders cease.
While thoughts constantly jump to the "future" or "past," gravity always exists only in the "here and now." Following the process of the body surrendering to gravity is also the highest form of practice for tethering the brain to the "wholeness" of this present moment.
A body that has ceased its striving can then finally begin its spontaneous recovery (Unfold).