PAIN - making life a drag.
Mar 27, 2024
Pain….Making life a drag.
Six months ago I decided to reduce my teaching hours and try to get more rest. I was having a lot of back pain which was impacting on my energy. However as much as I liked this time doing less the pain lingered and a few weeks ago I felt the urgent need to get to the root of the issue and explore options to fix it.
This is historic pain for me, the lower back is a common place for us to suffer but it wasn’t presenting as anything physical. The stretches and other exercises that I do regally weren’t making any difference. It took a few weeks for me to see Zoe Lake, an acupuncturist that has treated me in the past and like many of us I questioned my need for this before seeing her. Hoping the pain would pass on its own, even though I knew this wasn’t the case. You know this story, self doubt, questioning our decisions but ultimately we do have to listen to our gut feelings and although this route isn’t the right one for everyone it is my choice and right for me just now.
I refer often to this pain as my personal weak spot. It has presented itself in acute pain twice before over a period of 15 years. I could call it wear and tear. It can also be referred to was historic pain.
Lower back pain is often related to a combination of weak abdominal muscles and poor posture. Core strength work is needed to overcome this. I love the concept of core strength and stability. Of course we can relate to this by what we see from the out side of our body and observing posture but we are not always so comfortable engaging with our inner body and our feelings.
Zoe reassured me that this pain is not muscular which was a relief. She also confirmed that it is historic and thats what makes me feel tired. She also said not to overthink the words that she uses as they are linked to the language of acupuncture. She assured me it is treatable.
The term that she used was ‘tired energy’. When stuff just gets stuck in our body. This might sound woo woo, and not what you hear from a medical practitioner. Energy doesn’t show up on a scan. But energy is what I believe in and also work with in a yoga practice.
In a yoga practice we would refer to this as a block. These are often in our head, and can present in our body. We feel it.
We refer to energy as prana which also relates to breath as being a major source of energy and working with breath will improve a lot of aspects of living.
When a student says that something hurts I ask them to explain their pain. Once we start to dig deeper into how pain is presenting its self and a brief look to recent events we can usually create a narrative about how we got here. In this inner investigation or self dialogue we usually find the source of the pain.At this point I ask students to practice mindfulness and accept what they feel in the present, not to judge our self through the lens of our past. Just be aware that this inner dialogue has brought about some sort of self awareness which may or may not be useful.
A healthy yoga practice is about the ability to observe and to knowingly make adjustments so that we can make healthy change.
It does come down to what we feel in out gut, what our inner voice is telling us.
I read somewhere that the past is the mother of the present. It has brought us to this moment know.
Simply put I need some help to get this stale and tired energy moving so that I can function better.
Simple.
Always remember that our Yoga practice is always a means to an end, it not limited to making shapes on our mat.
During the three weeks of treatment I felt my mood shift and my energy restored. I also got a side benefit of visible relief in my arthritic fingers. Generally feeling lighter and ablate focus for longer periods of time. It took the three weeks for the pain to subside.
It feels like a clear out, perhaps a spring clean of sorts. Either way I am glad to feel better.
If you are looking for an acupuncturist, ask around for recommendation fro your friends. Most people know of someone with a positive experience. You can Find Zoe Lake here.
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