Unwinding Pain - One Step at a Time


Lao Tzu said that a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. It is often only with hindsight that we can see how many steps we have taken to achieve a new way of being. Wellbeing can come quietly each time we make a new decision; each time we become aware of and curious about our thoughts, sensations, pain patterns and emotions. Over time we may come to see that who we are is not who we were or thought ourselves to be. Life can become richer.


A while ago, I had a wonderful opportunity to reflect on my own journey to a richer and fuller life. On a very wet Melbourne morning I set out on a walk from Belgrave in Melbourne’s east to my home, some twelve kilometres away. I enjoyed the beauty of the bush in the rain and seeing parts of the local area I had not seen before. 


Ten years ago, this would not have been possible. Due to chronic pain, intense anxiety, and depression I believed I would never do that. At that time to walk for ten minutes was a feat. I remember sitting  across the table from a wise friend despairing “I can only walk for ten minutes”. I felt weighed down by pain. This particular day after months of kindly listening to my stories of despair, my friend looked at me and said, “But can you be happy with that?” I was confused, I didn’t understand what she was inviting me to see. She asked me again, “Can you be happy with that?” As I sat there, I eventually said, “I suppose so” - hardly a ringing endorsement!


Pain, emotional or physical, contracts and tightens us. It changes the networks in our brains and sensitises our nervous system, heightening the experience of pain. Each time we think the same thoughts or move in ways that seek to protect us from what we identify as harm, we reinforce the networks in the brain for pain. 


Over time I came to understand that I was focusing on what I could not do. I feared many, many things and was living a reduced life, dominated by thoughts and sensations of pain. I began in small ways to see how I was reinforcing my thoughts and beliefs about myself and my experience. Things began to change. 


Mindfulness and the Alexander Technique provided me with the tools to understand that my habits of thinking, of moving and being in the world either contracted and reduced me, or supported me to move into a more expansive, joyful, and constructive sense of who I am.


At one point on my walk that day, I stopped to look down the hill at the hospital where I had, now many years ago, completed a pain management program. I reflected on a challenging, but rich and worthwhile journey which led me to be deeply grateful that I can walk and appreciate all that life is offering me each day. I can be happy with that.





Anne began Mindful Movement Education to support others who are living with chronic pain and  looking for new ways to change their lives.

Anne is an accredited teacher of the Alexander Technique. She qualified in 2016 with a nationally recognised Advanced Diploma. Anne teaches in North Fitzroy and Boronia (for details).

She is also a Trainer with Optimum Dental Posture, which provides evidence based, cause oriented prevention and management of occupational chronic pain in the dental profession.
 
Anne qualified as a yoga teacher in 2009. She has a special interest in the application of the Alexander Technique to yoga and movement practices. She currently teaches on Saturday mornings 9-10.30am at the Melbourne Yoga Centre.



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_journey_of_a_thousand_miles_begins_with_a_single_step

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