MindBody Medicine for Chronic Pain: Where to Start

So, you’ve heard that mindbody medicine, mindfulness, and the like could be helpful in healing your chronic pain, but you’re not sure where to start? Let this be your guide.

Mindbody Medicine is a term used for any healing practice or technique that has at its center the knowledge that mind and body are one system; meaning that what we think of as the mind impacts what we think of as the body and vice versa, but that in reality they are one.

These techniques are immensely helpful for chronic pain, as many studies have shown that what is going on in the mind has a huge part to play in our experience of pain. If we only focus on the body when treating chronic pain (i.e. physical therapy, injections, pills) we are missing a significant piece of the puzzle.

Although mindbody techniques may take longer to take effect than some medical interventions, the results create real long-lasting change, while many medical interventions may only offer temporary relief.

Mindbody techniques I use with my clients include, but are not limited to:

• mindfulness practices

• meditation

• qi gong

• yoga (hatha, yin, restorative)

• breathing practices

• EFT tapping

• journaling

• IFS

• somatic experiencing

So, you want to dip your toe in, where do you get started?

The very first thing you can do is just to start recognizing that your thoughts and emotions play a part in your experience of pain. You don’t need to believe that thoughts and emotions are the only reason you’re experiencing pain, but it can go a long way to acknowledge that they play a role. To begin this journey, you might start tracking flare-ups of pain and noting what kinds of emotions you were experiencing before the flare-up occurred. Make special note of the moments you are feeling fear, especially fear of the pain. Fearing pain feeds a cycle of chronic pain: experience pain —> fear pain —> body tenses —> more pain —> more fear. Keep a pain journal where you track your pain from 0-10, and alongside the number make note of any thoughts you’re thinking, emotions you’re feeling, and the exact physical sensations you’re sensing. This will help you flex your mindfulness muscle as you learn to observe your experience, rather than being absorbed in it.

Once you’ve accepted that your thoughts and emotions play a part in your experience of pain you can begin to practice mindfulness techniques as a way to learn to compassionately witness and be with your thoughts/emotions/sensations. This “witnessing” and “being-with” allows you to create space from your thoughts/emotions/sensations, and choose how you would like to respond to them. This space gives you the opportunity to make new choices that differ from your habitual reactions (i.e. fear might be your habitual reaction to pain).

The next step is learning to express the emotions you’ve recognized with your mindfulness techniques. This can be done a number of ways including through psychotherapy, journaling, art, and movement. Journaling is a practice you can start right away. Writing down thoughts and feelings can help us to compassionately witness, express and accept them. The better you get at expressing your thoughts and feelings, the less power they have over you and your body, and the less your body feels the need to get your attention through pain.

Mindbody techniques can also teach you how to relax more deeply and access a greater sense of safety in your nervous system, both of which are hugely supportive to the healing process. Mindbody techniques that are particularly conducive to initiating the relaxation response include breath practices such as Nadi Shodhana (alternate nostril breathing) and restorative yoga.

Overall, chronic pain can be greatly reduced by strengthening the skills of observing, expressing and accepting your thoughts/emotions/sensations. Through the practices of observation, expression and acceptance you can develop a greater sense of trust and safety in your mindbody, restoring your sense of confidence in your ability to manage and reduce pain.

Curious to learn more? Subscribe to my newsletter and stay up to date on all the tips and tricks I share as well as any upcoming classes, workshops, and 1:1 offerings for those of you who would like to dive deeper.

Comment below: is there anything that surprises you about the idea of mindbody medicine? Have you tried any mindbody techniques, and were they helpful?

Wishing you deeper breaths and greater joy,

Eve

The 3 keys to effectively dealing with emotional+physical pain

Emotional and physical pain are inevitable.
Suffering is optional.

(or so the Buddha said)

(and Eve says so, too!)

If you follow me on instagram and have been reading my posts you already know Yin Yoga and mindfulness meditation transformed my life- primarily by giving me relief from chronic pain (and the accompanying emotional pain). 
Today I'm sharing with you three tools I learned from yin yoga + meditation that contributed greatly to my healing. 

Here are three keys to effectively dealing with emotional and physical pain:

1. Observe emotional and physical pain with curiosity and kindness.

   • Through mindfulness meditation you can learn to connect with the wise, curious and kind part of yourself that is able to observe your experience without judgment. 

     • Yin yoga is a fantastic opportunity to practice connecting with this part of yourself while experiencing discomfort so that when you experience discomfort or pain when you're off the mat you are better prepared to handle it. 

2. Consciously relax the body when experiencing emotional and physical pain (the pelvic floor in particular!)

   • Next time you are experiencing physical or emotional pain or discomfort notice what happens to your body. Most of us will find that the whole body tightens as a way to protect itself. Sometimes we truly do need to protect ourselves but often this is only creating more pain. Consciously relaxing the body while experiencing pain can help you to integrate and process the experience in a way that minimizes the possibility of trauma and minimizes the possibility that the pain will linger in your body. 

     • The pelvic floor is the only part of the body that when you relax it the rest of the body follows suit! The same cannot be said for relaxing the shoulders, the jaw or any other body part! 

       • All of this is easier said than done which is why it takes practice! In yin yoga we can practice relaxing the body while experiencing discomfort.

3. Take it one breath at a time! 

   • You'll be amazed at what you can withstand when you take it one breath at a time. 

     • When you wonder how long something is going to last...like...the pain of a heartbreak...or...the pain of a sprained ankle...your suffering is exacerbated. Pain is amplified as you project it into the future and get lost in fantasies of how the pain is going to impact your life. 

       • In yin yoga we learn that the pose becomes increasingly uncomfortable the more we wonder how long it's going to last.

         • The pose becomes increasingly more comfortable when you focus solely on the present moment by taking the experience of the pose one breath at a time.