Chronic Pain
ByLiving with pain we feel in our muscles, nerves, joints, organs and even our skin which hangs around for more than six months is a doorway to chronic pain.
I lived with strange nerve and chronic pain while enduring sciatica, inflammation, tenderness, soreness and stiffness which all attributed to an ongoing state of unhappy muscles, nerves and limited painful movement. It even felt as if I couldn’t get enough breath into the muscles to move easily.
Chronic pain is a thing of the past
When I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia, it was a relief to learn that the uncomfortable feelings I had been having in my 20′s and 30′s had a name to it.
As a kid, I remember looking at the muscle magazines learning what I needed to do to make this skinny kid into a muscular powerhouse. Even while living in chronic pain, I went to the gyms, stretched, lifted weights, thinking this would be a way out since exercise is usually considered a good thing.
Muscles and Chronic Pain Need Not Co-exist
Unfortunately, lifting weights and stretching didn’t solve the pains. Eventually, movement provided the key to getting the muscles and chronic pain to no longer co-exist in order to comfortably move.
There are many approaches to helping people naturally overcome chronic pain. You can find out about some of those in this month’s Max Sports & Fitness where yours truly has finally made it in a muscle magazine.
Living with Chronic Pain
Our brain and body can serve us naturally to ward off the stiffness, aches, and pains we feel in our muscles and elsewhere. Through a long series of trials and errors, I stumbled onto how animals naturally self-correct and move so well.
While I believe in a natural aproach of pandiculating, the process animals use. This has been systematized as somatics exercises which offers a key to un-lock muscular stiffness, improve mobility and take us to a place of natural flexibility.
There are other complimentary approaches which can take us a step closer to a life not full of chronic pain. Being free in our body and moving well is our birthright.
Sometimes we need a little help and a plan to get out of chronic pain with the desire we can return to all the fun activities life has to offer.
Knee problems are sometimes not always where we think.
We often think of knee problems happening, well obviously at the knee, yet in some cases, where the pain is, the problem ain’t.
The knee is designed primarily to bend like a hinge. It can twist a little too.
The muscles below and above the knee impinge upon it when we compensate or substitute with other muscles for instance, when we hobble around after an injury.
The muscles below the knee can be overly contracted or not functioning as well as they could be. Tight calves or restrictions in the front of the lower leg may not only rob us of energy, we may have to work that much more in order to walk and our knee problems can compound.
Knee Problems at the waist?
Often times, knee problems can occur much higher in our body than we think. You can do all the knee bends you want or turn your foot in or out to help with torsion issues.
Yet other parts of ourself can cause us to bear our weight differently. In times of injury, we can compensate by holding our side tight or cringing to the side using our waist muscles.
If left unchecked, contracted waist muscles can have some bearing on the function of the knee and the knee problems persist.
Free the waist, free the knee problems
The practice of somatics exercises, which is usually quite the opposite of other approaches, uses the brain to release contracted areas and improves the function of the muscles so we move more effortlessly and easily.
Join me for an online knee problems class.
You will learn how to release muscles below the knee as well as those at the waist.
Rather than doing standing exercises or using weights, we’ll focus on different relationships with gravity and noticing how our entire body moves, not just the knee.
Many knee problems can be solved by addressing our body as a whole moving unit instead of just the part where we experience our pains and discomforts.
Join us on Saturday, October 15th for a live somatics workshop. Join us in person live or on the webcast.
3 Hour Somatics Workshop
Somatics is defined as the body experience from within. In this workshop, we’ll explore the mind, body and talk of the spirit.
Somatics Presenters
Pamela Ziemann,international book winner and author of “Giving Voice to Your Cause” will teach us how to use your voice passionately to draw people to your cause.
Daniel Webster, “The Science of Yourself”, will teach us how you work, more specifically how you think, how you feel and where you put your focus and how these parts of you interact with the world around you.
Ed Barrera, Hanna Somatic Educator, will teach us how to use the power of pandiculation so we can move like an animal again and restore our health and well-being naturally.
Look here.
Ready to register, look no further.
When: Saturday October 15th
Where: Bellevue, WA or live on the web.
Why: Somatics is fun.
Can exercises for feet bring back the love?
Don’t you love your feet? As a soccer player, I’ve got no choice but to love the feet since I rely on them to create all the magical moments I get to experience.
While exercises for feet can have positive effects on the knees and hips…differentiating the movements leads to a more comfortable sense of walking… free of aches, stiffness and pain.
Do exercises for feet create lighter legs?
When we free up the feet, our knees tend to be more comfortable. When we use the brain which is what we do with somatics exercises, we are delving deep into our sensory-motor system to find out “if” we do indeed experience our self differently.
Describing our internal experiences is unique. At times, we don’t have the words to rightly describe the feelings and sensations we are aware of. Just as moving gracefully is art in motion, we can use mindful specific exercises for feet to get closer at noticing how we experience what the brain can do for us in a matter of minutes.
Using the brain for exercises for feet
Instead of the usual ways we exercise the feet, we can change how muscles respond using cortical pathways using our awareness to facilitate changes. We can feel those changes which will guide us towards more comfortable movement.
We can also self-correct using simple exercises for feet so the knees and hips don’t have to feel so heavy or restricted or leaden in some cases.
You can try a couple of somatics exercises in the video above… and you can spend a little more time exploring how quickly your brain can change the feelings of the feet, knees and legs, by getting this class on somatics exercises for feet.
Just as we did as children, if we can still reach the feet… we can love those feet with simple somatics exercises for feet.
Let’s Face It. Can exercises for face muscles help you move easier?
A looser jaw helps if you’re a runner and exercises for face muscles may be something you haven’t considered.
Did you know that in some countries they actually target future runners by seeing who has the loosest jaw? If they only had some exercises for face muscles, maybe there would be a surge in competitors or at least, we could have freer jaws.
Somatics exercises, a different set of exercises for face muscles
Somatics exercises are usually the reverse of most approaches since we work with changing the brain’s output to the muscles.
By decreasing high levels of muscular tension, these special exercises for the face muscles work with 1/3 of the brain’s sensory-motor cortex.
Using the brain to change how muscles respond is naturally what we did as children through the process of what is known as a pandiculation.
Exercises for face muscles and then some more…
You can join our online classand learn how to have a more mobile spine to go along with those exercises for face muscles.
Besides, you’ll learn 2 simple movements which will also help you sit more comfortably crossed-legged or in the lotus posture.
So please join us on Friday and find out if somatics exercises for face muscles can set you free.
What can we do to improve eyesight, lessen jaw pain, and improve the neck’s ability to move comfortably even though we may be sitting at a computer for long periods of time.
Improve eyesight… free up the neck.
There are any number of eye exercises, diet considerations and things you can do for the eyes. Sometimes getting up and drinking some water is enough to take out the strain.
Sitting at a computer for longer periods of time is not a way to improve eyesight since our range of vision and motion is compromised into a smaller space. Unless of course, you are working on building shorter, more contracted eye muscles.
Simple neck mobilizations and moving the eyes just a little differently are enough to ward off hours of limited motion.
Improve eyesight in just a few minutes
Relaxing the tension from hours of using our eyes in a small space or holding our neck a certain way, takes just a few minutes. Yet how many of us are really going to spend the necessary few minutes to take care of it.
Don’t we usually wait until the jaw pain or neck immobility becomes too great before we act. Pain is a great teacher, but why wait for our body to get locked up and not be able to lessen the accumulated tension and muscular stress.
Just a few minutes of careful self awareness combined with releasing the tension as naturally as any animal will do, allows us to keep on doing the things we human animals think we need or want to do.
Healthy animals do things like yawn. Well they contract their jaw muscles so it looks like a yawn. Go ahead, give yourself a big yawn and pay attention to all the muscles in your neck your tightening up.
Somatics exercises improve eyesight
The way to let go of tension and improve eyesight is to do what animals do. Thank goodness we’ve systematized what animals do as somatics exercises.
We’ve borrowed the very same process which is done in movement, not a static hold and release for a certain period of time.
With periodic self-adjustments and self-corrections, our neck will be freer, our jaw will be looser and we can improve eyesight simply.
Why hold all the tension in place when we can consciously learn to let it go with a little simple practice of awareness and easy movement patterns.
If you want to learn more, please join me in this online exercise class to improve eyesight, free the neck and ease a tight jaw today.
Awhile back I had the pleasure of meeting Barefoot Ted and some of the tribe from the Exuberant Animals. A great group of physical educators who turned me onto a pair of great shoes that feel as if someone just put a warm glove on my feet.
Somatics Shoes… The no shoe shoe if you will.
It’s my understanding that the best shoe is one that has the flattest sole and gives us some protection from the elements. Shoes like the old PF flyers and Converse flat sole shoes are excellent examples.
The moccasin has been a favorite of many people. Another group of people, runners, are going at it in their bare feet.
Many people have told me that while at home, they enjoy the feelings they have being in their bare feet.
Vibram Five Fingers are definitely somatics shoes
Somatics which is defined as the body experience from within has met its match with the Vibram Five Finger Shoes that I call somatics shoes.
Imagine if you will putting glove liners and mittens on your hands all day. What do you think will happen to the function of your hands and arms? Wonder what is happening to our feet?
Somatics shoes fits like a glove, moves like an animal
If you want to move like an animal…try a pair and let me know if you can ever stand to wear another shoe again. Vibram has hit a home run with these somatics shoes.
Better walking by not walking?
I remember when I could barely walk 50 feet and my shoulders would sear in pain and my ongoing tight back… well it would simply stiffen more as I trudged my way through it like a trooper. Why oh why?
Good news is, I was moving. The bad news, it wasn’t getting better and so after some time I just learned to continue to move painfully and suck it up.
So what can we do about better walking?
To be able to facilitate better walking, just imagine those lost feelings we had of childlike, easy movement.
We all know how well a panther can move.
Setting up movement is what all healthy vertebrate animals do before they have to run away or go after the prey.
Walking with stiffness like a zombie scared a lot of us as kids. Why did we lose our childlike feelings of easy, effortless movement? Is this the reward of aging or forgetting to move like an animal.
Better Walking by Not Exercising
The other side of the coin is using our brain, the one big muscle, to facilitate better mobility, agility and flexibility naturally as all healthy vertebrate animals do.
Simply through the conscious act of a pandiculation which has been systematized as somatics exercises can we move more effectively.
Somatics is not exercise in the traditional manner since all we are doing is using the brain to decrease excessive muscular contraction levels.
By decreasing those levels, we can move more easily so better walking is accomplished through the release of held muscular positions that we consciously can’t let go off or those that we aren’t aware of in the moment.
You can access this online class for better walking now.
Ever bump into that unkindly way our body responds when a muscle spasms?
Those muscle spasms can feel hard as a rock and at times painful and annoying when it just stops us in our tracks or leaves us writhing on the floor trying to get to a phone to call someone to help us.
When muscle spasms happen we generally react by pulling away and trying to lengthen the offending signal of the stiff, cramping muscle.
Muscle Spasms at night
Have you ever woken up at night with a painful leg cramp or muscle spasms which get your immediate attention?
Whadya do? Stand on it, eat a banana, use heat, use ice, or take some muscle relaxants. People have even had the pleasure of drinking pickle juice when dealing with muscle spasms.
We have all sorts of remedies yet we are most likely dealing with a brain signal that is easily changed once we know how to easily un-lock the code and reorganize the muscles.
Quiet down the zoo of muscle spasms
What’s a charley horse? Who is your animal?
While the term usually is used for a cramp, muscle spasms happening in the leg have fun names from other cultures.
In Norway, it’s called a thigh hen and in Germany it’s a horse’s kiss. While in southern Italy, a donkey bite and in Guam, a rat of all things.
Makes you wonder what to call a butt cramp, a charlie donkey or just a pain in the a!*?
In other countries, it’s called ice leg, paralyzer, wooden leg, hard one, crutch and wouldn’t you know… cramp in the leg.
When we’ve experienced this varied and colorful sensation, we can feel the alarm bell go off and our muscles seem to be held in the “on” position.
Sometimes the signal can last for a moment, hours or beat intermittently for some time.
In many cases, our muscles have appropriately reacted with was is known as the stretch reflex.
When we pull our hands away from a hot stove, it’s a good thing to have a quick reaction which saves us from a burn.
On the other hand, the switch can be set “on” from a previously contracted muscle which most likely was already being contracted at a rate higher than the resting or neutral rate it can lie in to be used.
Many of us live with high tension levels or compensations of an elevated hip, over arched spine, or the countless others ways we can hold ourself together more than necessary. Our muscles will keep on going to a certain point.
When they are exhausted from our activity or stress thresholds and we push pass the tipping point, we can set off any number of muscle spasms.
When we push on a contracted muscle, the good news is that the stretch reflex reflexively pulls away. You ain’t gotta do a thing about it. The reflex happens.
Your spinal cord will pull the hand away from the hot stove just as you jerk in reaction to being hit with a hammer from the doctor.
When we get a muscle spasm at night from turning over, we’ve bumped into a reflex which comes “on” even though we were in our off mode.
Interesting how a movement, such as when someone merely bends over and reaches, yet throws their back into a full blown grabbing set of muscle spasms.
Or how about someone doing some exercise like abdominal crunches and “poof” there goes the belly into yet another specific train of muscle spasms.
Lock jaw, groin pulls, and runners who pull their hamstring muscles… ‘course some people do that merely from walking a little too fast too… are again signals generated from the spinal cord to protect us.
But what if we over-ride and self-correct the offending signal with our brain’s capacity to change how much muscles can actually output.
To quite down the zoo and terms for muscle spasms, we can use a little animal know to take care of it.
When is the last time you saw a cheetah running 60 mph and set itself off in muscle spasms?
Maybe they have four legs and can balance more evenly. Why wouldn’t they then have twice as many muscle spasms?
While we believe the right amount of electrolytes and a balanced diet helps the nervous system thrive instead of “pull” one for the team of our muscles. De-hydration too hasn’t shown itself to be too convincing either as the cause of muscle spasms even though we suspect it so.
Healthy vertebrate animals remain limber, agile and flexible on account of the little pandicular maneuvers they do each morning and throughout the day.
The good news is that the process they use has been systematized as somatics exercises which treat muscle spasms and other painful muscular conditions.
To deal with muscle spasms is to use the brain, the one big muscle, to re-set the offending signals.
It’s really quite easy to re-set an over contracting signal unless you have no experience at it… but we all do since most of us pandiculated in our mother’s womb.
It’s like a dusty software file in our brain. All we have to do is re-access it with a little know-how and “poof” the signal of the muscle spasms tunes down.
When we get good at reminding the nervous system how easy it is to reset it, then you can drop all the ice, balms, muscle relaxants and take care of it on the spot.
The brain can reset the resting rates of overly contracted muscles through a simple process which you yourself can replicate in case muscle spasms happens to you.
“Please bring me your muscle spasms.”
You can now access this online class. You’ll learn how to get out of muscle spasms using a little animal know how.
You’ll learn how to apply a simple 3 step method which is a piece of cake to get since we already have the movement software built in. Again, it’s just a matter a accessing it in the brain and getting the brain to release certain chemicals of relaxation.
By using the brain in a precise way, we can relax muscle spasms and calm the muscles down naturally and effectively.
OK, there may be a pucker factor or two to go through but the end will be a painless result, easier movement and the self-knowledge that muscle spasms ain’t no big thing.
