Getting Relief from Chronic Pain and Having the Success You Want When You Move Your Body
Did you ever notice people’s response when you ask, “How are you?”
Most of us answer automatically: I’m good. Fine, thank you.
It’s funny because sometimes we’re not good or fine at all. Of course, we’re not going to stop and tell everyone everything that’s happening in our lives. But over time, we become trained to say one thing while something else is actually happening.
I think we do the same thing with our bodies.
We use words because we want a certain response. We say things like, “Relax,” “Let it go,” “No tension,” or “Feel the burn.” Even movement instructions such as “Reach your arm” or “Touch your toes” are simply directions. They tell us what we want our body to do, but they don’t necessarily help us experience what our body is actually doing.
When I say Do It Different, the challenge is you can’t change and “do it different” if you don’t feel something different. We want to “be very fine thank you” and “we want to relax and feel no tension” but those are just thoughts.
Where is the actual feeling of your body?
We all want to feel free, relaxed, without tension. But how do we get there?
I think a lifetime of saying everything is okay—even when it isn’t—becomes trained behavior. We stop checking in with ourselves because the answer has become automatic.
The same thing happens with movement.
We repeat familiar instructions: Relax. Stand up straight. Pull in your stomach. Let it go. We become fluent at talking about movement without noticing what our bodies are actually experiencing.
In many ways, we don’t move the body we have—we move the body we imagine we have or want.
Here’s the great news.
Your nervous system is already designed to help you feel your body. We are born with an incredible kinesthetic sense—the ability to sense where our body is in space and to move through that feeling.
As children, we learned movement by experimenting. We rolled, reached, climbed, crawled, balanced, fell, and tried again. We weren’t trying to move correctly—we were discovering what our bodies could do. We didn’t need an instruction manual.
Feeling came before technique.
Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped experimenting. Instead of discovering movement for ourselves, we began copying others. Our movement reflected our emotions, our habits, the people around us, and what we were told our bodies should do.
Our bodies become a reflection of our lives.
They don’t change simply through thought. They change by returning to sensation.
Now here’s the surprising part. Once you feel your body will begin to be much more responsive. It will actually “nudge” you in a different direction. There are only 2 choice what you are doing and what might feel better.
Most people believe they are feeling their bodies.
I would argue…
Yes and no.
Many of us are feeling our ideas about our bodies more than the physical reality of them.
Think of your body as an instrument. You can play a few notes, maybe even a beautiful melody. But years of habits, tension, and old movement patterns make it difficult to experience everything the instrument is capable of.
I’m not talking about becoming an athlete or a dancer, although this would certainly help those activities.
I’m talking about enjoying everyday movement—walking, bending, reaching, breathing—without chronic aches, unnecessary stiffness, recurring injuries, or anxiety.
Feel More Specifically
After doing the Miracle Ball Method, don’t stop with, “I feel great.”
Or…
“I feel relaxed.”
“I released all my muscles.”
While I love hearing those responses, I want you to go one step further.
Ask yourself:
What actually changed?
Is your breathing easier?
Does your rib cage move differently?
Can you feel your weight more evenly through your feet?
Does your neck turn farther?
Can you feel your shoulder blades? Your pelvis? Your sit bones?
The more specifically you can feel your body, the more specifically you can move it.
That’s when you truly begin to Do It Different.
As you read The Miracle Ball Method or experience the classes, you’ll begin to notice parts of yourself that were always there—you simply weren’t feeling them before.
We don’t want to live only in the superficial world of movement because it limits what’s possible. If we continue giving our body the same automatic “I’m fine, thank you” response that we give people every day, we never discover what our body is truly capable of.
Every one of us has an extraordinary instrument—our own body. It’s like having a Steinway in the living room. Owning it doesn’t mean we know how to play it.
The Miracle Ball Method helps you rediscover the remarkable instrument you’ve had all along.
Next week, in Part 2 of Do It Different, I’ll share examples of people who are discovering entirely new ways of moving through the Miracle Ball Method—and why those changes last.
Until then…Do It Different.