Healing Chronic Pain
Part 1
I’m always amazed at how many things in life, from the simplest tasks like tying your shoelaces, require direction. There is even a learning curve.
Some of us are more patient than others. Some can be frustrated but still persist through the process if we want to wear sneakers with laces. As adults, learning new things is essential—whether it’s adapting to new jobs, technology, or interacting with others, we’re constantly learning strategies.
However, when it comes to our bodies, we often throw these rules out the window. We expect our bodies to accommodate the complexities of everyday life without complaint. We shouldn’t experience backaches from sitting for hours at work or anxiety from unforeseen challenges. Our bodies should just conform. But isn’t that like expecting a child to already know how to tie their shoelaces, use the potty, or learn to read?
We do people a disservice when we teach sports or bodywork without encouraging them to use the feedback from their bodies as a learning process. Physical and emotional responses, which can include injuries, chronic pain, or panic attacks, often lead us to avoid them. This is commonly known as the fight-or-flight response. The same principle applies to chronic pain; it’s easy to run from pain because who would want to run towards it? But your body can’t send you an email. I have learned that pain, whether from injury or anxiety, is a learning experience much like tying your shoelaces. It requires different directions for success.
With my chronic pain and anxiety, I truly wanted an escape. As I feared it more and more, it worsened. I lived with it, leading to a compromised life. Others even supported my management approach, confirming that I would likely live this way. There was no “cure,” just management. I gave up. Oddly, that’s when I peeked behind the curtain. Exhausted from years of this experience, I began to see glimpses of relief when I stopped listening to others’ gloom and doom and started to simply observe what I was feeling. In that moment, with the most rudimentary directions I still use today with myself and my students, I calmed the storm that had been trying to help me, not hurt me. It got louder because I never stopped to listen.
The body is simple; people are not.
The body has only two responses: it provides positive or not-so-positive feedback through physical sensations. The language you assign to that is what I call your Body Dialogue. You must interpret and develop your own language so you can build a relationship with your body—not just rely on the person in the gym teaching you to lift weights or the instructor guiding you in dance or sports. At the end of the day, that’s what your body is capable of. You must engage your body through feeling, rather than mechanizing it based on imitating and listening to others.
Part 2: Don’t Fix It, Feel It
Because most of us misinterpret physical sensations, we often exacerbate the situation. The sensations become louder. I truly believe that when you face these sensations, even if only for a few seconds, you change the trajectory of your life. You have to believe that. Like the message in Peter Pan, Peter couldn’t fly unless he believed. I don’t want you to blindly trust what I’m saying—that wouldn’t help you. We already blindly trust too many people, yet our bodies still rebel. We must believe that our bodies know more than we can comprehend. We need the most basic of directions. You will then begin to tie your shoelaces effortlessly. More importantly, with your body, you will find that it knows how to move, breathe, and enjoy life without pain. In Part 2, I will start with the most rudimentary directions. I encourage you to visit miracleballmethod.com to learn more, sign up for classes, join the membership, or attend the Free Webinars. One step at a time. It is a language unique to you, and you will fly.