Decreasing Chronic Pain with Self-Compassion
We've made it to part four of this four-part series about the effects that mindfulness, yoga and physical therapy can have on decreasing the suffering involved in chronic pain.
And for those of you in the Salt Lake area, we're starting our in-person class on this subject next week!!!
In our first email, my colleague and friend, Katey Blumenthal and I shared a snippet about the the science of pain and the next week we talked about the difference between 1st and 2nd arrows - a buddhist teaching on suffering. Last week, we shared more about the role of curiosity and for this final week, we want to add self-compassion to the mix.
***If you know someone who experiences chronic pain, please forward this email. Or if you'd prefer, reply with their email and I'd be happy to reach out to them.
Okay - back to self-compassion...
Does this pain cycle sounds familiar?
You have a chronic pain point - some space in your body that has been hurting for a prolonged period of time. The pain ebbs and flows but to some extent, it’s always there. On days when it’s not so bad, you still tend to tense a bit in that area, almost like you are readying yourself for what might come. And on days when it’s worse, your whole body can feel braced. On those more difficult days, you have more thoughts about the pain and its effect on your day and your life and sometimes the thoughts themselves are harsh and even self-critical.
And you might even notice that those harsh and self-critical thoughts cause more physical tension and emotional distress which then causes the pain to increase.
In this scenario, you started with a pain point and then added both physical and emotional tension to that pain point, both of which caused more pain (remember the 2nd arrows from part 2?).
So how do you interrupt this cycle?
Start with awareness - simply notice the sensations in the physical body. And then notice the thoughts you are having around the pain and acknowledge the effect those thoughts are having on your physical, mental and emotional state. Remember that the thoughts themselves can add physical tension and emotional distress, which can increase the pain.
Then you disrupt that cycle. You acknowledge that even if you can’t change the initial pain, you do have agency around how you respond to it.
Next add curiosity. Notice the way the pain ebbs and flows and pay attention to other sensations in the body that feel pleasant or neutral - because it's helpful to notice that the pain is not the only thing that is happening in the body. Remember that curiosity helps us notice what is happening without putting a value judgement on it. And it helps us move out of the fear zone.
Notice the muscles that are tensing around the pain and work to relax them. Because, while it may start as a protective mechanism, that muscle tension is not helping!
But the absolute biggest cycle disruptor, the real game-changer, is self-compassion!
Simply bringing a feeling of warmth, tenderness and self-friendliness to the situation, can make all the difference. Cultivating a message of, it’s not my fault, I'm doing my best, I’ve got this, today is a new day, can make all the difference.
This message of warmth and tenderness, turns on the neural networks of compassion which calms your nervous system, and helps you move out of fight or flight and into rest and digest. From this place, bodily tension can relax because you aren’t so poised to fight the pain, your thoughts hold less self-criticism, and you are able to manage the discomfort from a place of being on your own side.
Strengthening the neural networks of compassion is an amazing pain management tool. Studies show that people who experience chronic pain AND practice self-compassion suffer less and in our upcoming course, we’ll get into the why and how of all of it!
If you are in the Salt Lake Valley, and are interested in learning and practicing tools to manage pain while building self-compassion, curiosity, and resilience, please join us! We'll be meeting in person on Wednesday mornings in February.
And if you live elsewhere but would like support around your chronic pain, please reply to this email. I'd love to chat with you about it.
This course is for you if:
You want to change your experience of pain
You have experienced prolonged pain
Your pain affects your mood, behaviors, attention and/or quality of life
You're curious to learn how to disempower your pain
You're interested in exploring pain through the lens of mindfulness, yoga, and physical therapy
You're interested in the neuroscience, anatomy/physiology, and psychology of pain and pain management practices
Let's get started......
Depower Your Pain With The Best of Mindfulness, Yoga, and Physical Therapy
In-person only, Wednesday, February 5, 12, 19 & 26, 9:30-11am (MST)
In the 9th and 9th area
If you'd like to chat about whether this class is the right fit for you, reply to this email and we can chat about it.
And if you know someone in the Salt Lake area, who might benefit from the February course, please forward the info to them.
Sending so much love your way.
Rachel
Other ways you can work with me...
If you want some support starting or recharging your yoga and meditation practice, join the Your Yoga community! Register here to start your free 7-day trial.
If you'd like to work with me one-on-one, I have a few spots available. Reply to this email if you'd like to chat about whether this is the right time and fit for you.
And you can find all of my online workshops and courses here.