Good morning beautiful beings,
In one of the previous newsletters we took a look at neuroscience facts about pain and created Pain Management plan of action. Today, lets poke at pain-induced
fear.
Why?
Pain can rob us of our ability to live mindfully and fearlessly.
Some of us become so frustrated by daily pain, we recklessly push through it, agitating our nervous system further and further, worsening the pain in the process. Others live held in the vice-grip of fear: they contort and brace themselves to move around the
pain, and sometimes stop moving all together, creating a devastating effect on both physiological and neurological levels.
Worse yet, pain grinds in never-ending, gripping, exhausting fear of what if: what if it doesn't go away, what if it gets worse, what if it comes back, what if, what if, what if...
Like any constant pressure, daily pain alters our physical structure, our nervous system, and our thought process. Not just focus and clarity
are muddled; the very fabric of our thinking becomes infected (figuratively speaking) with unexamined, fearful thoughts - THOUGHT VIRUSES.
Ruth, one of my private clients, says: “ I worry day and night about how this pain would affect everyday life and just existing; I’m afraid I might end up in a wheelchair. I’m not even that old yet, what will become of me?”
This pain-induced worry thinking produces enough stress to create adrenal fatigue
and lock her in the vicious circle of self-perpetuating pain by affecting the way Ruth carries herself and her breathing patterns. Add to it daily stresses of living…
How do we challenge THOUGHT VIRUS status quo?
If you’ve been reading Satori love letters (aka blog posts and monthly news), you know that yoga therapy has been and continues to be my saving grace. I talk + write a lot about posture, alignment, and correct movement patterns because I’ve
seen the effectiveness of this approach first for myself, and then for countless scores of my clients and students.
I haven’t talked much about the flip side of making structural changes, perhaps only because this process is so inherent to who I am. The process I am talking about is, of course, the process of inner inquiry.
Here is what I’m getting at:
Illness and pain change more than our bodies.
They also change our minds.
To heal, to really truly heal, we must address both body AND mind.
15 years ago I wasn’t just physically ill. I was afraid to answer the phone. I was afraid to drive on the highway. I was afraid to talk to people. This is what I did this this summer.
