A Word About Pain and Recovery
My wrists and hands hurt. They hurt so much that I found myself avoiding doing any extra activity with my hands...if I didn't have to pick something up, I didn't. I was walking around with my arms crossed, my hands buried underneath them, to keep them warm and protect them. Much of my actions were just beneath the level of my consciousness....I "caught" myself avoiding things, and cradling my hands.
In my case, it was clear to me the pain was mechanical. Hours on my road bike and in the yoga studio were affecting my wrists and hands. I stopped cycling and practicing yoga for a few weeks, until the pain subsided. I rested my wrists and hands.
When I returned to the yoga studio I asked my teacher to observe me during class, because something in my practice was "off" and I was injuring my wrists. Her feedback was that I was sinking my weight into my wrists, rather than using my shoulders and core to support my body weight. Great information, and so far the adjustments I'm making in my practice are working. But these adjustments are new and awkward and difficult. I thought I had attained a certain level of mastery and strength in my practice, and it turns out I hadn't. I thought I could flow through my practice without having to discern if I was engaging the proper muscles to prevent injury. Now I actually have to think about how I'm practicing. I need to keep my focus on what muscles I'm engaging. It feels more like work, and it's going to take some time for me to get to the point where I can simply flow through my practice, to move without effort and hard focus.
At this point you may be asking yourself what this has to do with recovering from Chronic Fatigue and Pain. Well, everything. Because it's pretty much the same as with a mechanical injury. And it can be just as straightforward.
Pain and Fatigue are symptoms. Something is off in your practice of life. An adjustment needs to be made, and when you first start making those adjustments it feels awkward and it feels like work. Old habits that aren't working for you anymore need to be changed, and more often than not those are beneath the surface of your awareness. In order to heal with the Energy Flow Coaching principles you have to be willing to change how you relate to your physical body, your mind, your relationships and your life. But your fatigue and pain can guide you through this, and your teacher, or coach, is there to observe and to guide you to make the proper adjustments. You are simply following your body. If you do this, if you use how your body feels as your guide through life, you can recover from symptoms of pain and fatigue. And then interesting things start to happen. You start to flow much more easily through life, and just like in yoga practice, "spiritual growth occurs when one attains a conscious state not controlled by habitual thoughts or behavioral patterns."
In my case, it was clear to me the pain was mechanical. Hours on my road bike and in the yoga studio were affecting my wrists and hands. I stopped cycling and practicing yoga for a few weeks, until the pain subsided. I rested my wrists and hands.
When I returned to the yoga studio I asked my teacher to observe me during class, because something in my practice was "off" and I was injuring my wrists. Her feedback was that I was sinking my weight into my wrists, rather than using my shoulders and core to support my body weight. Great information, and so far the adjustments I'm making in my practice are working. But these adjustments are new and awkward and difficult. I thought I had attained a certain level of mastery and strength in my practice, and it turns out I hadn't. I thought I could flow through my practice without having to discern if I was engaging the proper muscles to prevent injury. Now I actually have to think about how I'm practicing. I need to keep my focus on what muscles I'm engaging. It feels more like work, and it's going to take some time for me to get to the point where I can simply flow through my practice, to move without effort and hard focus.
At this point you may be asking yourself what this has to do with recovering from Chronic Fatigue and Pain. Well, everything. Because it's pretty much the same as with a mechanical injury. And it can be just as straightforward.
Pain and Fatigue are symptoms. Something is off in your practice of life. An adjustment needs to be made, and when you first start making those adjustments it feels awkward and it feels like work. Old habits that aren't working for you anymore need to be changed, and more often than not those are beneath the surface of your awareness. In order to heal with the Energy Flow Coaching principles you have to be willing to change how you relate to your physical body, your mind, your relationships and your life. But your fatigue and pain can guide you through this, and your teacher, or coach, is there to observe and to guide you to make the proper adjustments. You are simply following your body. If you do this, if you use how your body feels as your guide through life, you can recover from symptoms of pain and fatigue. And then interesting things start to happen. You start to flow much more easily through life, and just like in yoga practice, "spiritual growth occurs when one attains a conscious state not controlled by habitual thoughts or behavioral patterns."
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