This week's class turned out to be most interesting, and presented lots of opportunities for self-discovery!

I'm not gonna lie, I spent a fair bit of time trying to figure out which angle to approach this from to make the most of this gift.

So here where things started: in previous classes we've been working on stability in a variety of positions and settings, and with a range of props.

This week I thought I'd add a little more challenge, so I asked folk in class to put one foot on the core ball while standing. There was, of course, a chair for support...

For most, the reaction was almost instant - it presented as anxiety, feelings of nausea, and, for some, anger.

Let me say this: I am beyond words proud of all of you who shared their feelings with class - I know first hand how challenging vulnerability can be.

As it turned out, almost 3/4 of the group felt exactly the same way.

I am also beyond the words grateful that these classes serve as a supportive and safe community, where experiences such as this one can be unpacked, processed, and understood, and then used for growth and betterment.

So now let's take a look at what happened as a way of unpacking the situation:

 

While there was nothing threatening or dangerous about putting one foot on an unstable surface {tha ball}, for most participants their nervous system reacted to the situation as a potentially dangerous one - creating feelings of anxiety, accentuated by rapid breathing.

This isn't a surprise at all: most of those living with persistent pain have a sensitized and reactive nervous system.

The awesome learning opportunity was that we were able to pause and acknowledge that there's nothing threatening about what we were doing, and then WITNESS OUR INTERNAL REACTIONS.

In this witnessing mode, we were able  - with some effort - to step out of the mental whirlwind that ensued, and recognize the familiar patterns of reaction. We watched how physical experience worked as a potential trigger for the nervous system, and how, once the nervous system morphed the experience into a runaway train, the habitual mental reactions followed.

I would bet that for many folk in this class, that was a first experience of witnessing the inner workings of the mind without being actively engaged in them - that is the definition of mindfulness, and that is why mindfulness is life changing tool.

Now, one of the other things we've discussed is challenging the edges of pain, challenging our mental habits, and challenging the status quo in general. There's way too much there to put into one e-lesson, so we will continue to work though this material in the weeks to come!