Tension during meditation

[InterruptReQuest]

I've noticed during these past few days that when I meditate that certain muscles in my body want to tense up. Like, if you were to intentionally tense your biceps (or any muscle really) as much as you can for a moment (maybe around 10-25 seconds at at time) and then relax them, but my body does this sort of automatically. Is this normal to happen during meditation and what does it mean?

[Raptorsin7]

@InterruptReQuest You're likely becoming aware of tense parts of your body that you never payed attention to before. It's a good sign, the more you meditate the more stuff will come up and the more stuff about yourself you will become aware of.

What is your practice?

[InterruptReQuest]

I wouldn't call it becoming aware of the tension (although I've had those too). More like my brain just decides to tense some muscle(s) really hard for a moment. It is a different feeling.

I do regular focusing on breathing meditation and sometimes guided ones if I feel like it. 

[Raptorsin7]

@InterruptReQuest Maybe some traumatic feeling/experience is buried and when it comes in meditation you're becoming aware of your habit response of tensing to avoid said experience.

Have you tried self inquiry or heard any talks by Rupert spira?

[InterruptReQuest]

Could be. I wonder if I'd be able to release the trauma when that happens. Not sure if just observing is enough.

I do know of self inquiry as a concept.

[Nahm]

21 hours ago, InterruptReQuest said:

Is this normal to happen during meditation and what does it mean?

It’s normal as in it happens, people experience this. It’s a reaction between mind & body, to a yet distilled belief, most likely self referential. It’s not per se ‘automatic’ in regard to well being, aka flow state or stream entry... the difference being reacting (a ‘same old’ pattern) vs creatively responding with a new approach / perspective.  The thing to inspect imo is the corresponding thought when the tension occurs. One way to think of this, is when the thought arises, the relaxed meditative body is tensing which is the experience of the ‘holding onto’ that has been going on.. the holding onto of thought ‘ perspective, or belief / interpretation which is of discord. The way to release the ‘holding’ of it, is to relax the body again, and while relaxed breath into the tensing area of the body. It is as if you are breathing well being into that area, more & more deeply relaxing it, and bringing awareness ? attention and well being to it / into it. Analogously (for the muscle which is tensing, not you)  you might think of how a little kid brings a troubling matter to a parent, wanting resolve. One resolve, is for the parent to think logically and offer a solution, which will often suffice. A ‘deeper’ resolution would be for the parent not to provide a solution, but to give their full attention to the kid... and though to the kid, this power of this receiving of attention is unknown cognitively, the experience of it transpires nonetheless, as an untangling of the tension and the kid ‘looks’ deeper into it, thus bringing the light of awareness to the matter, which is always ample. 

If... the present situation is such that “...but I’m not experiencing that ‘corresponding’ thought though!?’.... nonetheless, in allowing the body to relax and breathing into the area of tension... the thought will arise and ‘reveal’ itself.