That was a terrific class on Saturday, and I think the concept of pain care is wonderful. It was like some of the pain left right then!
Pretty scary that our brains are that powerful and sensitive to the power of suggestion.
I am interested in seeing (and feeling) how this practice of re-channelling the protectiveness of pain will play out!
It will take time, as you say, but it is pretty amazing and very soothing to turn down the dial on pain!!
This is why I always love your classes and advice!
Your health practices and what you share with your students are cutting-edge!!!
~ Janina
The truth is, I’ve been feeling giddy the whole weekend since Saturday’s class.
Teaching such a curious and engaged group was a dream come true.
The folks who attended asked so many thoughtful questions that I knew a follow-up would be in order. I just didn’t know where to start!
That’s when the above e-mail from Janina popped into my inbox to deliver a dose of much-needed inspiration. Thank you so much for taking the time to write!
As it almost always happens, Saturday’s class went nothing as I had planned, yet it still delivered – as promised – rapid relief from neck and shoulder pain.
Initially, I designed a predominantly movement class with just a hint of pain care foundation to create a container for the movement practice.
Instead, I followed the group’s lead as we dove deep into pain and trauma to have an honest conversation about pain’s physical and emotional components. One of the most fascinating topics we discussed was the matter of context.
Compare the following examples:
Do you notice any similarities between the two?
The physical symptoms of strenuous exercise and a panic attack are identical.
Yet, the two experiences cannot be any more different. This difference in context creates strikingly polar experiences: energizing in one case and terrifying in the other.
What does this have to do with pain?
Everything!
In a well-known experiment, scientists applied heat to participants’ skin to elicit a pain response. Once the baseline of pain response was established using a functional MRI scan, the researchers changed the environment in which the experiment was taking place.
Their discovery was nothing short of extraordinary: simply adding a red light to the room where the experiment was conducted made the study subjects feel more pain. Naturally, adding a blue light lead to less pain.
The amount of heat applied to the skin hasn’t changed at all. Yet, a subtle change in the room made people feel more or less pain.
How is this even possible?
This is precisely where we left off last Saturday, primed to ask more questions.
More next week!
Hey, my name is Julia
Living with chronic pain has taught me to look for solutions in unlikely places – places where most people see only problems.
Over the years I’ve gotten to be pretty good at this problem-solving and silver-lining finding thing.
So good that I felt compelled to share what I’ve learned and help others to find their sea legs while navigating, living, and winning their battle with chronic pain.
