Pain in the Body

I have wrestled with a couple pains in my body. I might take a yoga class that will give me relief, but a couple hours later, sometimes a day or two, I’d feel the pain again. I asked my doctor about it when I was being scanned for reoccurring cancer cells. Maybe it was a growth somewhere, something out of the ordinary, sprained or broken. I’ve heard of people having fractures that they did not even know were so. They just thought they sprained something. Sure it hurt, but they were still able to do most things, most of the time.

Not so for me. My doctor told me, “That’s just a tight muscle, Courtney.” Nothing is wrong with the bone.

I’ve had massages, definitely not as many massages as I would like. But even after those sometimes, I’d still feel this insistent pain. No matter how deep the massage therapist went, they could not touch the ache for long enough for it to find a new home.

So I wrestled. 

Through my investigations on the mat, I have discovered that the more I am out of alignment, the more pain I will feel or create. This happens physically on the mat in many ways. It can happen while entertaining a pose that the body is not ready for. When not listening to our body’s needs or neglecting to use the appropriate muscles or overusing others, this can happen. Either way, pain is felt in the body when one practices (on or off the mat) without attention to the details.

This happens in the mind as well. When we do not pay attention to our thoughts, we find that we end up in places we did not know we’d ever be in. Creating un/subconsciously, we bake ourselves into thoughts that eventually lead to pain. This does not happen over night either or for an hour at 375 degrees. It happens over time. With repeated thought/ action, we create either the pie of our dreams or a mountain of hell.

The trick to dealing with pain is to become an observer. Don’t resist the feeling. Observe what you think and feel. Don’t judge it. Be easy on yourself and take the time to listen to what you tell yourself over again. Watch the movements you make over and over again.  Pay attention to them. Allow the feeling to buzz throughout your being. And, Observe.

Observe others too. Don’t judge what you see or hear. Observe how they hold their shoulders or how they sit or walk. Watch for people who feel good in their bodies. Watch for people who appear to be struggling. What does this look like? Look at yourself in the mirror. Listen and watch for the Truth.

Moreover, I've learned that if I am feeling too emotional, too stuck in my own way about the pain that I am feeling, it is better to start my observations after I have done some work to align myself with my Truth. After that yoga class when the pain is dull or after that massage, when I am happiest or most relaxed, that is when it is time to make my keenest observations. That is when we see from a right perspective. These kinds of observations nurture growth and ease, in the body, mind and spirit. They, over time, release our resistance to pain-vibration and allow us more space to enjoy our lives in the body.

The extent to which you believe yourself to be able to heal yourself will be the extent with which you let go of the resistance.

Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu

“May all beings everywhere be happy and free, and may the thoughts, words, and actions of my own life contribute in some way to that happiness and to that freedom for all.”

Namaste.