Nobody wants to feel pain. In fact, we usually try to avoid it as much as possible. Often, when something starts to hurt or becomes uncomfortable, our instinctive response is to remove ourselves from the source of that pain or discomfort.
Sometimes we divert so much of our energy and effort to avoid feeling the discomfort that we may not see that the pain is there to tell us that something is not working and a change may be needed. Think about the last time you got a headache, was your first instinct to reach for the Advil? What if that headache was a symptom to indicate that something else is not right? The Advil will most likely take away the pain temporarily but will not address the presence of any underlying issue.
Pain, whether it is physical or emotional, is something that we would rather not experience. When we start to feel “unsafe”, the survival mechanism kicks in and we instinctively retract physically to close ourselves off from feeling the discomfort. Subconsciously, even the slightest appearance of an undesired feeling triggers you to lock yourself into a position that prevents you from feeling it. Sometimes when we experience physical pain or dysfunction without having sustained an obvious physical stress it may represent our body’s response to an emotional stress. When we have locked our feelings into our body, the range of motion it can experience gets limited and our ability to bring breath to this area decreases. This inability to bring breath, energy or movement to an area may be an indication that there is something that we are trying to avoid experiencing.
Often, my patients are surprised when certain bodily movements or physical releases trigger an emotional response. When the physical tension within the spine and nervous system is released, the body is better able to communicate with the brain. There is a very real and amazing interconnection between the body-mind. Conscious awareness of its existence can provide us with a deeper understanding of ourselves. At BodyMind Wellness Studio, the first level of care focuses on building awareness of the body though your breath. You can see how bringing breath into an area can release other areas of stored stress and tension. Using light touches at specific vertebral segments to ease tension within the spinal cord, the brain becomes aware of the tension within the joints and muscles, and initiates greater movement and deeper breath allowing for a release.
At BodyMind Wellness Studio, we focus on optimizing the communication between the brain and the body (NeuroStructural Optimization). Over time the body learns how to develop strategies to self-regulate and remembers how to heal. Releasing tension within the nervous system allows for optimal functioning between the brain and the body. The next time you feel physical tension in your body, see what happens when you bring your breath into this area. It may give you a deeper understanding of yourself.
“Pain distracts you from seeing your ability to experience the extraordinary.” – Dr. Julie Doobay
Copyright Dr. Julie Doobay 2019
