Being unstifled - thoughts from Elliots and Tylers new videos from my highschool sports days

I just got around to watching Elliot and Tylers two new videos and the bioenergenic stuff blew my mind. Tyler calls it unstifling or shaking it out, it involves running around a nightclub that you are uncomfortable in with your shirt off or yelling at the top of your lungs, in blueprint it was goofing off and pretending you were an animal. Elliot calls it bioenergenics, releasing tension. BOTH of them talked about being open and unstifled is what allows them to flow, to be at ease with the moment. Whatever the moment bring. To be PRESENT. The one RSD guy Elliot worked with carried a lot of tension is his throat. He said he always had problems speaking freely and projecting his voice. When Elliot told him to open up and breath he literally got choked up, was pretty fucked up to watch seeing it happen like that. But all that was happening is that guy has the tendency to carry around tension in his neck and throat. Where did this tension come from? Tolle tells us, the pain body. Emotions are just feelings of the mind felt in the body. Releasing that tension allowed him to open up a lot better, project his voice and breath through any tension.

If we are able to be present, be open to whatever is happening, to breath deeply even in uncertain or tough situations outside our comfort zone than we are able to be ourselves in the moment. Be who we want to be and do what we want to do without any emotion or tension holding us back. It allows us to flow, to be at ease either when talking to an intimidating girl or breath deeply in the present moment.

Being loud is a basic, fundamental part of being a man. Sure there are many times and places where we want to monitor our volume but we need to have the ability to be able to be loud, in any situation. Instead of being tense or close down when we try to express ourselves.

I made a small post about my high school sports days in highschool a few weeks ago and it reminded me of what sports did for me. I started playing rugby later than all my peers. It was the big sport in our school and I joined the team late. I was a sub, a tall string bean with no natural talent for sports, in fact I was often picked close to last in grade school. I was nervous and scared about hurting myself on the field and frequently held back especially when something intimidated me... Like the overdeveloped 15 year old man-boy with 60 lbs on me. Shit is scary and would shut me down. The next year I decided to change, the starter of my position was away on vacation at the start of the season and I knew I had to crush it before he came back. I didn't have skill or talent with this game but I had a drive to play at my best The fear of getting injured or being embarassed is a MAJOR sticking point for many amateur atheletes. The drive to be my best shadowed my worries about getting hurt or screwing up in front of the crowd, in fact I made myself think if I did end up in the hopsital the concussion would tell a pretty good story and make me feel like a bad ass. Next time a 6'4 200 lbs kid was sprinting at me, I would not hesitate twice to drive my shoulder into his gut and pump my legs until he was knocked the fuck down.

For the next two years I started every game we played. I wasn't a great player, I rarely scored and screwed up more times than I could count but the important thing is I was doing my best and always looking to improve. I maintained that drive and it showed in my ability to tackle. I was probably one of the weakest guys on the team, especially when it came to the forwards (the players who do the most tackling, and are in all the rucks and mauls) but I was one of the hardest hitters. My coach frequently used me as an example to the big players who slacked on their tackles, he would point to me as an example of what to do and told them to stop playing patty cake. Awesome.

Like many young teens I was quite an angry little boy. Rugby and sports gave me an avenue to grow myself. On the field I was able to growl, yell, use my agression and release all the tension built up in me. After a rugby game there is NO way I would care about the bullshit problems in my life. First of all I burned myself to the ground physically and all the weeks tension and problems would dissipate through me literally growling at anyone with a different coloured shirt, making heavy eye contact during stoppages until the whistle blew or they look down in fear, taking control of someone elses body and never stopping until they were on the ground.

On the field the difference was so clear. My ability to unstifle myself and play at my hardest DESPITE having very real fears of potentially ending up in the hospital is what allowed me to play at my best for myself and the team and this leaked into all areas of my life.

The ability to breath and take action around our fears is pretty basic, actually fundamental part of being a man. Most of us are so cut off from what is happening below our heads that we don't even realize that we stop breathing when talking to an intimidating girl or get a funny feeling in our stomachs while outside a loud hectic venue. Take a deep breath and then have confidence that even if you end up in the hospital or embarass yourself that it'll all work out if you keep trying.