Pain is a Messenger
As a massage therapist who works with people who have pain, I have noticed that many of us have a tendency to push what we call negative feelings (anger, sadness, jealousy, fear, etc.) into our bodies and resist dealing with them outright. The body does us a great favor in storing these feelings for future processing when we are unable to deal with them in the current moment. These unexpressed, unacknowledged emotions create tension and stress in the body and then can manifest as chronic pain, illness, immune disorders, and so forth. We then curse our bodies: “my stupid back is acting up,” “that’s my bad shoulder,” “damn foot,” and yet, our bodies are simply speaking up to remind us that we still need to work through these unrecognized emotions. Pain acts as the voice of the body and can get louder and louder the longer we ignore it.
To change our suffering, we can change our minds and our hearts and get them congruent with each other. First, have compassion for your incredible, amazing self; you have within you the wisdom and ability to heal. Second, have a dialogue with your body. Sometimes we don’t even quite understand what we are feeling; we just know we feel off. If you’re not a feeling type person, you could start by becoming aware of pain, tension or immobility in the body. Where does it exist in your body? What function does this area of the body serve? What activities are you limited in doing when this pain or immobility happens? Can you identify a feeling that you have when you have this pain or limited movement?
Take frozen shoulder, for example; this is an incredibly painful and baffling condition that can lock a shoulder down for months on end. When you think about what a shoulder does, think about reaching up, reaching out, reaching for things beyond our immediate grasp. I had frozen shoulder myself a number of years ago. The condition severely limited my movement; I couldn’t even reach up to get a glass off the shelf. At the time I had the condition, I was going through a period of my life where I was feeling highly conflicted about reaching for something I wanted, unsure whether I was capable or worthy or even had the financial means. My head kept saying one thing and my heart was saying the opposite. So, I did nothing. This tug of war froze my decision-making in place and my body literally locked down my shoulder to show me what I needed to resolve. Coincidentally enough, the moment I was able to explore and resolve the emotional incongruence in me was when the physical issue began to resolve. I was able to heal from the condition months faster than normal.
A great exercise I like to employ is to journal about the pain or body part that is having an issue, and there are two questions I ask:
What should I call you? This requires us to suspend our disbelief and judgement. Even if you think, “This is just my own brain creating this.” Well…yes. The brain and body have inherent wisdom to share with you if you are willing to listen. This naming of the pain, issue or body part is a way to honor and recognize it. To have a name is to have validation and purpose in the world. You’ll be surprised by what comes up. Sometimes it might be “Harry” or “Bob”, but sometimes it might be “Fear” or “Despair”. I’ve even had words that are in another language come up, and when I look them up later, they are spot on. One particularly interesting name for an ongoing issue was “Anam Cara”. When I looked it up later, it meant “Soul Friend”.
Why are you here? This question enables the issue to speak the wisdom it possesses. In this part of the exercise, simply put pen to paper and write. Don’t edit, don’t think, and don’t worry about eloquence or grammar. This is the body speaking to you. The faster you write, the less likely you are to want to edit. The wisdom you receive can be mind-blowing if you are open.
Give yourself the gift of listening deeply. Your pain, your immobility, your issue has something of benefit to offer you if you let it. Pain is a messenger. Let it speak its wisdom to you.
Part of what allows a healthy dialogue with pain in the body is a sense of relaxation and openness. We can help with that at The Healing Sanctuary. From services like massage therapy that encourage body awareness and directly address pain to services like Reiki, energy healing and sound healing that help to calm the nervous system, all can assist with reducing pain in the body. Call to schedule your appointment.
