Mindfulness and Chronic Pain
Hello Sweet Friends!
I just wanted to check in and let you know what I’ve been up to. I've got four things for you today (feel free to scroll down accordingly:)
Thoughts on chronic tension and pain and a link to a new podcast interview with RiRi Na of the Reimagining Life Podcast: From Pain to Purpose. In the podcast, we talk about living with chronic pain and how mindfulness practices can help.
RiRi and I are teaming up to offer a free class focused on living with chronic pain. Check out the link to learn more or register.
A quick survey to help me support you. Please respond!
An invitation to join Your Yoga: A Virtual Community with a free one-week trial that gives you access to over 300 recordings.
#1 - Thoughts on chronic pain and discomfort and a podcast
I've been thinking, teaching and talking a lot about how we experience pain and tension in our bodies lately (no news to my Your Yoga students who have been immersed in the topic for the past couple of weeks). And this thinking and teaching coincide with a recent podcast episode I was honored to be a guest on last month.
So here is some food for thought:
One of the ways our bodies protect us is by bracing (think breath-holding and tension in the belly when we are scared, chronic neck tension that's exacerbated when we are in a relationship conflict or intense back pain at the site of an old injury).
That experience of high alert is in place to protect us. But just like with a hyper-vigilant nervous system, sometimes, even when we are safe, it can still be difficult to turn that tension off. Our bodies have learned responses to stress and one of those response is muscular tension. Once that learned response is in place, the tension can become chronic. And chronic tension held in the body will eventually cause pain and discomfort. And pain and discomfort cause tension in the mind, which can move us into our fight flight response, which can cause tension in the body and......... you see the loop?
Our muscles think they are protecting us from a physical or emotional stressor, when in fact, they may be exacerbating the problem.
But here's the good news: Mindfulness practices bring awareness to the patterns held in our bodies AND help us undue those patterns. Some of those practices are bottom-up practices that help us release muscular tension and some of them are top-down practices that help us release emotional tension. Regardless of which direction you start from, you are going to support both your body and your mind.
If you'd like to hear more, click below to listen to the podcast episode.
And if you struggle with chronic pain and/or disabilities, definitely check out the other episodes on the Reimagining Life Podcast. It is full of fantastic information and resources.
#2 - Mindful Movement and Meditation
with Rachel and The Reimagining Life Community
If your interest is piqued and you'd like to add a few practices to your toolbox, join us for a free 30 minute mindful movement class on March 27 at 5:30 pm (MST). I'll work with guided meditation and gentle movement to explore ways to release the muscular and emotional tension that can contribute to and reinforce chronic pain and discomfort. The class will be followed by a Q & A so bring your questions:) And if you can't make it on zoom, a replay will go out to registrants the next day.
#3 - A Survey: Help Me SupportYou
If you know me, you know that I absolutely love teaching and there are so many things I love to teach! Right now, I'd like to zero in on what YOU need and want to learn. Would you please take this 3 minute survey? I'm itching to create something new but I want to do it with your specific needs in mind!
Please, please, please, can you fill out the survey???
#4 - Your Yoga: A Virtual Community
You may already know that a Your Yoga membership includes 4 live zoom/recorded classes each week, and entry into a stunning community of humans who either, gather virtually from the location of their choice or who watch the recordings at their convenience throughout the week.
But what you may not know is that a Your Yoga membership comes with a library of more than 300 recorded yoga and meditation classes. You can check them all out free when you register for the trial and if you decide it's not for you, you don't have to do a thing. You enter your payment information AFTER your free trail ends IF you decide to join.
It's also only $49 a month for an average of 16 classes!!! So if you've been wanting to get back to your yoga practice or start one from scratch, but you never quite make it to the studio, then IT'S SORT OF A NO-BRAINER!!!
That's it for today! Thanks so much for taking time from your day to hang with me for a bit.
Sending so much love!
Rachel