My body language is usually very tense. I do not know how to control it but I want my body language to be more "loose" and expressive. I don't want to be completely still. I know I when I'm tense because I feel some weight on my shoulders and I feel a bit uncomfortable. How do I "loosen up"? (the reason I put quotes is because I feel the expression is very vague and cliche but it is one of the only ways to describe it). I reached out to Adam Lyons about this and he told me I should take a hip-hop dance class. It would probably be filled with mostly women. Unfortunately, I don't have the time and money to do that. I go off to college in 4 weeks and want to change this habit as fast as possible. Any sort of routine or exercise I can do to help me not become tense? What should it feel like when I am "loose"?

A good exercise I do everyday, is to completely relax my entire body. Lie down on your bed, close your eyes. Play some relaxing music if it helps. Then consciously imagine all your muscles relaxing. Start from your head and slowly move down to your feet. Imagine every single muscle slowly untensing. e.g. bicep, lower arm, hand. This should last about 20 minutes per session. And also, put on some nice music and dance to it, regular exercise (running) would also help.

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Ignore the bad, praise the good.

-Ember-'s suggestion is good: it may also help to imagine bags of sand where the tension is, and that the bag has a little hole in it, so that the sand is slowly emptying out. Be sure to lie in semi-supine when doing this.

If that doesn't work, gentle stretching works well. I get big shoulder tension as well, and I find proper arm circles help. The key to doing it properly is to be aware that it is a ball-and-socket joint: it can do a full 360 degrees. Slowly rotate one arm backwards with your head tilted in the opposite direction to the arm. Multiple rotations, then change direction. Keep it slow and breathe. Stop immediate if you feel any pain. Change arms.

If you're still struggling, you may want to look into getting some classes in the Feldenkrais Method. They may be a bit hard to find/pricey, but they are well worth it.

I recommend taking a yoga class. Or doing some home yoga. It releases tensions every where. You'll feel amazing and may even see yourself looking looser and more relaxed just by thinking about it.
Test it out see what works for you.

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Fox

Smoke more weed and listen to more reggae...
A tense posture usually is congruent with stress so my thoughts in this are: you're very tensed, about what I don't know and only you do. Get rid of your stress factors in life and you'll loosen up eventually.
But seriously, smoke more weed and listen to more reggae

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Optimistic?

its all good advice....

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Life's about struggling and overcoming your shortcomings, not about huffing and puffing without doing nothing.