It is a very common thing that when we feel stressed or angry, tension builds in the top of our shoulders and aching starts to grow there. You know the place – upper back, in that ridge where your neck meets your shoulders.

 

In Acupressure, this area also includes a point called GB21. It’s a very common meridian blockage point.

 

 

But why does it hold tension so easily?

 

When we get angry, stressed or frustrated the body shifts into the sympathetic nervous system – the fight or flight response. The shoulders subtly lift, the breath moves higher into the chest and lungs, and the upper back begins to brace.

This is the body preparing for action.

 

The problem is that most of the time there is no action. The stress doesn’t discharge, and so the body stays slightly braced and tense. Over time, if this is not let go of, this subtle bracing becomes chronic tension.

All this tension stays quite high up in the upper trapezius muscle, in your lungs and chest. The muscles along that ridge remain subtly engaged across the top of your shoulders, which makes it feel tight. In meridian terms, this is where the Gallbladder meridian runs – and prolonged tension here can disrupt the flow of energy through the GB21 point.

 

Because this tension is linked to the nervous system and the breath, it doesn’t usually resolve with forceful pressure. However, through breathwork and my own Acupressure massage and Reiki work, it can give the body that permission to let go of the fight/fight response and so ease that tension.

Very often with things like this, less is more.

 

When the body is holding tension here, it isn’t being difficult – it’s protecting you. The key isn’t to fight that tension, but to help the nervous system feel safe enough to release it. When the breath softens, and the body feels heard, the shoulders follow. And that’s often where real change begins.