Pain is an amazing communication tool connecting our physical, mental and spiritual self…the essence of who we are. The opportunity to discuss pain is an underlying constant in my practice. Although many of my students have turned to Pilates out of a desire for a balanced physical body; quite a few have come to Pilates in a pro-active effort to heed “The Call” of pain. There is the obvious pain of acute injury or chronic inflammation.
Also, the “tweak” in our knees, backs, shoulders when we move in a certain way. Should we choose to pay attention we may discover the muscular imbalances that create an issue at a joint. Should we choose to address it, we can prevent a more serious injury. However, if we opt to ignore and just “muscle through”, “man up” we may pay a steep price with interest at a later date.
Also, the “tweak” in our knees, backs, shoulders when we move in a certain way. Should we choose to pay attention we may discover the muscular imbalances that create an issue at a joint. Should we choose to address it, we can prevent a more serious injury. However, if we opt to ignore and just “muscle through”, “man up” we may pay a steep price with interest at a later date.
There is more subtle and deeply rooted pain or discomfort that we all share, as well. That discomfort in our spirit, the one that can be so very difficult to pinpoint. Many of us can already feel its presence lurking post-holiday, seeping in mid-Winter. We may call it the blues, lack of Vit. D, need for a Get-Away…all true perhaps but often difficult to decipher, until the volume increases.
It recently took my amazing friend, in all his yellow, furry, 80 lb. glory to teach me about my own discomfort. Although I had noticed an escalating agitation, or anxiety in my Lab, Noah, I managed to dismiss it until his “pain” got louder. Without going into too much detail, suffice it to say he taught me how to address my own undercurrent of anxiety by observing my reflection in him. Although we may be joyful, thriving humans at a quick look, our souls and bodies are intimately wrapped together. What we may not necessarily feel as a “pain” but rather a mere “twinge” or discomfort in our spiritual core is still the beginning of an imbalance and should be addressed…or it may eventually surface in our physical bodies. The phrases “my heart is broken”, “it took my breath away” or “I felt I’d been kicked in the gut” speak of this mind/body connection. In my case it has shown up in wiped out adrenals. I am hopeful that as I practice moment-by-moment living, to Breathe (as my license plate reminds me), to just Be and to take my time, that this excessive energy current running through me will soften, and that both Noah and I will feel those benefits.
So, whether the pain in your back can be traced to tight hamstrings, knee pain to inefficient movement mechanics, whether your lack of Joy can be traced to too much doing and not enough Be-ing, whether your pain is subtle, a twinge, in your body or in your Spirit. Listen. And if your pet begins acting like there’s a storm on the horizon when it’s just you and him on a blue skied, sunny day…Listen.
