What is under the pain?
When some area of our body is in pain; a knee, elbow, hip or low back, it is speaking to us. Often we just want that pain to go away, and quickly so we can move on with our busy lives.
What if we stopped and listened to that pain?
Can you stop and listen to your pain?
It is not easy. When I stop and listen to my pain rather than medicate or numb it, I acknowledge that part of me that struggles day to day– that part of me that doesn’t want to move forward or support me on this journey. When I stop and listen, truly listen, I get present to more than just pain. I get to bring deeper compassion and deeper caring into my being.
I suffered with extreme back pain for 3 years. I iced, rubbed, massaged, stretched, did yoga and tried every alternative therapy I could find—all with short-term relief.
Until one day I tried a Qigong class and my Qigong master said,
“Love your pain.”
I hadn’t tried that!
I thought it was nuts at first but then, through our Qigong movement exercises I softened and started listening to my body and my pain. I didn’t need to “fight” this—I needed to listen more deeply to what was working in my life rather than what was not. Bring more in of the good stuff, less of the bad.
So simple yet, hard to do when you are busy getting things done.
Bringing in love and kindness to my pain, allows me to harness my energy, not send it away to “fight and battle”.
Love your pain. Name it, listen to it and maybe through your love and compassion for this forgotten part of you, you can hear what it truly has been trying to say—“slow down”, “be kind to yourself”, “find your true path”, “love yourself”, “you are supported”, “you are loved”.—those are some of the messages I have heard since getting quiet and listening to my pain.
Listening is the first phase of Transformation–powerful, beautiful, real transformation from within.
Try it and see what messages you can hear.
