Relaxed but Alert

"To some extent, in our culture, we associate calm with a certain relaxed dullness, like lying in a hammock on a summer afternoon after a hard day's work. On the other hand, we are often alert but tense, as when we face danger or financial problems. We go back and forth between these two states, relaxed but dull, alert but tense. We associate alertness with a crisis mode."

(Breath by Breath: The Liberating Practice of Insight Meditation p. 81)

Alert, but tense. Relaxed, but dull. Sometimes it's tough to break out of the pattern and it can impact performance, recovery, and health.

Finding the happy medium between tension and relaxation is more than putting together the right mobility warm-up. It requires a mind-set and breathing pattern appropriate to the task at hand.