Admittedly the headline is a bit of a clickbait, because what I’m about to share with you is – of course – not always easy! However, I had that song by Mika in my head and now you do, too. Sorry. 😅
I invite you to clench a fist and then open your hand again. You have just experienced contraction and expansion – tension and (rel)ease on a physical level.
On the physical layer the principle is quite easy to understand: You can contract and relax your muscles. A fist represents contraction. An open hand stands for relaxation.
The same principle applies to all kinds of layers within yourself. Let's have a look!
On the mental layer we can identify perspectives that are more contracted (tunnel-vision) and others that are more open (bird’s-eye-view). An example: The believe that »I have to solve every problem in my life alone without any help« versus the believe that »I do have all the help that I need and that life is always for me.« Which of the two beliefs is more contracted and which one is more open? You get the idea.
On the emotional layer we can identify feelings that are more contracted – for example anger – and feelings that are more expansive and light – for example joy.
On the energetic layer the same principle applies. Energy centers (chakras) can be blocked and the energy stuck and they can be open and the energy flowing.
All the layers I describe above are connected to one another – interdependent. You can have the thought »I’m not good enough« and it might create sadness (emotional layer) in your system and make your body feel heavy (physical level).