Are you suffering from chronic pain?
Please keep reading. You may find this article helpful.
First, how do you view pain?
Does your mind automatically think of chronic pain as an enemy, like something bad, something to be stopped, suppressed, removed, eliminated, etc…? If you do, you may find it interesting to know that these thoughts have the unintended result of intensifying and prolonging pain all by themselves.
How does this happen?
Well, when you think of something as bad, or the enemy, you create negative emotions and direct them towards whatever you’ve identified as bad. Negative emotions have a very real physiological effect on your body. One of which is to contract and tighten, thereby restricting the flow of blood and healing energy to the area of pain. It also serves to keep the pain receptors active and firing. In Traditional Chinese Medicine or TCM, we say: “Where there is stagnation, the Qi (life energy) can not flow, and there is pain.”
What should I do?
Try a Different Perspective. Pain is not an enemy, it is the messenger of your body, and it is your friend. Pain invites you to take note of something that needs your attention and your compassion. What a difference it can make if you realize that you don’t need to fight pain, but instead, be thankful you’ve been made aware of a situation that needs your loving attention.
Ok, I’m Receiving a Message from my Friend Pain, Now What?
Here’s where it gets interesting. Say, for example, your knee has chronic pain and it has flared up. What can you do to help it?
- Try to simply note in your mind that you have pain. It has delivered the message to you, and you are grateful.
- Now, the area that has pain needs your help and compassion. Whatever part of you that is in pain, is A PART OF YOU. Consider your knee as you would a child who needs comforting.
- Relax, your knee is a beloved part of you, and you can help. No good purpose is served by being angry at your knee.
- Send your knee healing energy by visualizing green light surrounding and flowing into your knee. Imagine your knee as completely healed, perfect in every way.
- Create a feeling of love and gratitude in your heart for your amazing knee, a part of you that supports you to the best of its ability, your entire life. The least you can do is love and thank your knee for its devoted service to you.
Whoa! My Knee is Much Better, What Did I Just Do?
Well, you did a lot of things, all good, for you and your knee. By not creating negative emotions and not directing negative emotions into yourself you’ve kept the muscles, tendons, and ligaments relaxed, allowing blood and qi to flow. A calm mind, focusing calm, loving thoughts on an area will quiet active pain receptors. You gave yourself an actual energy healing by sending green light (the universal color of healing and growth) into your knee and imagining it healed. This effect was amplified by generating feelings of love and gratitude, the perfect healing vibration, for your knee.
You may be thinking, “Easy to Say, Not So Easy to Do”
And, you would be right. This technique is counter-intuitive for most people. You may just want to kill, maim, and destroy whatever is causing you pain, as well as the pain itself. To understand that pain is only a messenger and that whatever is in pain needs love and compassion takes conscious effort and hard work. So, cut yourself some slack, it takes practice. But, practice makes perfect. Just try it out. Once you’re comfortable using this technique, you’ll be amazed at what you can accomplish.
I hope you have found this information helpful.
If you’d like more personalized help with your health, I’d be happy to help you get started on the road to vibrant health. You can email me with any questions, or you can sign up for an initial free Vitality Breakthrough Strategy Session and I can help you determine your next best steps to health! If you’re ready to get started now, check out my health coaching and training services. They are available in-person local to the San Francisco Bay Area, or distance coaching and training is available for non-local clients.
With love, Holly