Page 82 - ESCARPMENT MAGAZINE | Winter 2013

Escarpment Magazine Winter 2013 82
Not too long ago an older man visited my studio for the first
time. His shoulders were slumped forward, his breathing shal-
low and his skin pale. Not what you’d expect from the pres-
ident of a property management firm. “This year has been
rough.” he said and went on to tell me that he’d never
done yoga but his wife had and she thought I could
help him. Many years of 80 hour work weeks had fi-
nally taken a toll on his body. Diagnosed with fi-
bromyalgia and put on pain medication when his
back gave out, left him fragile and weak. After
a series of tests on his heart and his spine, the
Specialists told him there was nothing phys-
ically wrong with him.
He was in pain but they couldn’t find any
evidence of it in his body. It was affect-
ing how he was breathing, his self-
confidence and his ability to focus
and work.
When someone experiences
chronic pain, the nervous system is wound up—acting as if it needs more
and more protection. It has become hypersensitive. Sometimes it’s the
result of an injury where a person continues to protect the area even
after it’s healed (fear). Sometimes, like my client, it’s the result of many
years of stress, where the nervous system has been on high alert, and
like an electrical panel when the demand has exceeded its capacity, it
has short circuited (power drain).
From a yogic perspective our body, mind and spirit are all intercon-
nected. One affects the other so that everything we do matters including
what we think, feel, eat and how we act. The good news is that we can
change these things and when we do our health will improve.
Following are some tips to help you handle pain:
Slow down - Yoga can teach you to slow down, to be more con-
scious in your body and in your life. Slowing down allows you to have
more recognition of just where are in your life, and how your thought
and behavior patterns have contributed to the situation you are now in.
Become more aware - Regulate your thought patterns
and emotions. Note whether they are helpful or impeding to
you. Challenge your thoughts. Ask yourself: “Do I really
believe this?” and “What would I prefer to believe?”
Reset your nervous system - Pain is not an ac-
curate indication of tissue health or tissue healing. A
paper cut can be painful. With patience and com-
passion you can reset your nervous system to the
way it was before the injury and increase your
pain threshold gradually.
Ask yourself: “How dangerous is this RE-
ALLY?” Moving just a little further than
your pain threshold will help to de-sen-
sitize the nervous system. Move
mindfully and breathe into the pain
deeply and slowly. Make sure
that you proceed slowly, gradu-
ally and mindfully and ask your-
self if you will regret this tomorrow; if so, you’re doing too much.
Learn to relax the body - Deep belly breathing is the quickest
way to start relaxing and unwinding the body. It sends a signal to the
nervous system through the vagus nerve in the digestive tract, that every-
thing is alright and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system (the
relaxation response). Make the exhale longer than the inhale. Progres-
sively tighten and relax the different muscle groups in your body. Do it
slowly and breathe while you are holding the contraction.
Set some goals for yourself - I once asked a young nursing stu-
dent with brain cancer what she’d like to do after the chemotherapy
treatments. She was thrilled with the question. It changed her mind set.
Other than being free of pain, ask yourself “What will I do when I’m
feeling better?”
Practice compassion - Appreciate your body and practice com-
passion for yourself and others. |E|
escarpment
healthy living
WELLNESS
MANAGING PAIN
from a Yogic Perspective
By JOANNE PINEAU, HBSC.
Even after the body has healed itself or
when there is nothing seemingly wrong
with the body, we can still be in pain.
Why is that?