Hidden Pain: listening to the body…
It’s so interesting when pain leaves the body…there can be this sensation of something missing but not quite knowing what…the body and mind need time to recalibrate the newness of a pain-free experience. Here’s the shocking way that hidden pain recently showed up in my body…
Last week I received what I’ve experienced now to be the best chiropractic adjustment of my life…literally, years of chronic pain I didn’t know I was carrying have now almost completely vanished from my body!!!
We kinda know all these things as healers and wellness practitioners and do our best to support ourselves in the ways that we support our clients AND I will say for me this is a challenge…I truly believe that healers need healers too! Just like a therapist needs someone to talk to, to see the forest through the trees!
The pain in my body was showing up in the wildest of places and in various degrees of severity. Now, I’m a relatively healthy person, I’m connected to my body, mind, and spirit AND I still couldn’t see what was going within. Pain was showing up in the whole right side of my body - hip and piriformis pain, I equated to an old injury, radiating arm pain I tributed to sleeping funny, left-side shoulder mobility issues I thought were from year of Vinyasa yoga, sunlight sensitivity that was getting more extreme…old age, right? Finally, I experienced a week long pounding headache…my first migraine maybe… but it did not go away and no pain-killer could touch it.
Luck for me I have a beautiful and loving Mother who suggested I see our shared Chiropractic & Massage Therapist…and to be honest I didn’t think either would help my worsening headache. But after having to cancel clients and classes because the pain had reached its peak I booked a back to back session of chiro and massage.
After my session, I could barely drive myself home, achy and sore from the treatments but I was hopeful that the huge C1 vertebra release was the key to my pain relief. And after a night relaxing with a heating pad on my now sore neck and a good night’s rest I woke up with a feeling that something was missing…my pain! The headache that was making my eyes pulse was gone and slowly over the next few days I notices more mobility in my shoulder, my hip wasn’t hurting as bad and my yoga practice had more ease and pleasure!
Ultimately, my C1 vertebra was way out of alignment, completely inflamed and pushing on a blood vessel that connects from the base of my skull to the back of my eyeball…yikes!!! With the C1 back in place the channels of energy and connection within the body could now flow with ease and begin to release the pain that had referred out to other areas…my body was literally screaming at me to listen!
My biggest lesson from this experience and what I want to share with you as something to consider when dealing with your own body pain, is the idea of referred pain. I had no idea my neck was out because all the pain I was experiencing was coming from other areas of the body. Now knowing this and how pain can show up for me, I know what to look for and I can ignite my curiosity about pain in the body and start to think outside the box.
Pain in one area of the body may be a cry for help from somewhere else in the body. It is up to us to listen to the body with kindness, curiosity, and so much self-compassion. And to take the time to explore solutions that may not be obvious!
…also listen to your Mother ;)
xo
