In my previous blog post, I wrote briefly about a frustrating foot injury that temporarily prevented me from doing what I wanted to do. Sometimes healing is on its own schedule and there isn’t much we can do to speed it up. And not everyone has the same approach to recovery.
Over the years, I’ve experienced a variety of issues to recover from - some are fully resolved and others are still works in progress. I have lived through my share of injuries and health challenges. I've used traditional allopathic medicine, complementary, and alternative treatments ranging from physical therapy, chiropractic, acupuncture, massage, hypnotherapy, interactive guided imagery, Botox injections (for migraine), and dietary changes. In desperation, I even went to an Amazon Shaman Healer, who “ate my migraines” and then proceeded to retch to expel them. It was quite a sight seeing this healer who did not share a spoken language in common with me barfing up my migraines. Or so his translator informed me.
I once went to a religious faith healer in an Evangelical Christian church, even though I’m not Christian. When the pastor put his hand over me and declared I was “healed,” I felt nothing but self-conscious as I watched other people who trembled dramatically on the floor as they were “healed” and wondered if my lack of miraculous response was because I lacked faith.
That being said, I’ve lived through my share of pain and understand and empathize when someone tells me they’re hurting. Relieving pain in myself and others was a huge motivator in studying this method. There are a lot of strategies available to help. Sometimes it starts with really basic stuff, like calming a nervous system that is activated.
Once someone’s nervous system calms down dramatically, the healing process can start. I have seen clients go from “flight or fight” into a relaxed state where their breathing slows down and sometimes they fall asleep. This quieting seems necessary for the neuroplastic changes and learning to occur. I think of it like turning down the volume of music so we can hear what someone is saying. Without reducing the volume, many of the words get lost and trying to interpret a message will just bring frustration.
In discussing the topic with a colleague, she mentioned how we often react with agitation when we get hurt. Sometimes we can’t fulfill our responsibilities, or fear we can’t, and face disappointment and loss. We might compromise our health to go forward and push through the pain - there are times to push and times to allow time for healing to occur. The Feldenkrais Method helps people find a more peaceful state free from societal expectations. There’s a lot of healing value in that. Then the person can make choices with a clearer, calmer mind.
Our awareness helps us mitigate the harm from compensatory contractions and ways of moving. We can use awareness of the body and awareness of our thoughts, emotions, and the stories we tell ourselves. Sometimes our friends or families are surprised when we inform them we can’t do something we normally can due to an injury or illness. The people who suggest we “walk it off” and push through the pain instead of calmly accepting that’s where we are now typically mean well. Their attitude can lead to us feeling misunderstood and even feelings of self-doubt, self-recriminations, and shame. So in addition to the injury or illness, we also contend with society’s response to our choices around health and then our own internal critics which can be loud and punitive. Hearing an internal saboteur blaming us for not being able to do something doesn’t typically motivate us - it simply adds layers of emotional pain to the physical pain. Many people who are in pain have all these layers to deal with, so some of the work can be easing up on themselves to allow the healing to begin.
The reason I got into this work was how much this work impacts me personally. If you want to schedule a Feldenkrais session with me, click here.
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