The body is now in control, not the mind!
“Pain can only feed on pain. Pain cannot feed on joy. It finds it quite indigestible” –Eckart Tolle
PEOPLE HAVE NOT BROKEN FREE FROM THE CYCLE OF CHRONIC PAIN BECAUSE NO ONE HAS TOLD THEM THAT THEY CAN.
More than 30 per cent of our population is known to live with postural and post-injury chronic pain. It is a complex human health issue and it often falls into the “too-hard” basket because of a lack of understanding and a lack of experts who can offer long-lasting solutions.
WE REGARD HUMAN BEINGS AS A WHOLE.
Chronic pain is not just about the parts of our body that are in pain, but rather, it is a long-term disruption of our original equilibrium: physically and psychologically.
CHRONIC PAIN IS A “BAD HABIT”.
In other words, the body is in control, not the mind! A habit, good or bad, is a learned behaviour that becomes an automatism for the body. It is wonderful when we want to learn how to play the piano or ride a bike, but can have devastating effects when it comes to remembering and establishing poor posture, faulty repetitive movements, or stressful training patterns as normal and automatic behaviours.
HOW DOES THIS HAPPEN? – THROUGH REPETITIONS!
Your body learns through repetitions. Indeed repetition is the mother of all skills! Neuroplasticity of the brain is the ability to create and change our “habits” or patterns. You can create both good and bad habits through repetitive behaviours, movements, thoughts and feelings. You will always be successful at it. You cannot fail, it is the way the brain learns and remembers.
Your body can learn to hold itself crooked for many reasons that have become you!: Emotional shielding and stress have long been recognised as primary reasons for poor posture. Lack of motivation to exercise, faulty training, automatic repetitive movements or bad rehabilitation post-injury create muscle imbalances (some too weak, some too stiff, some asleep!) a main cause of spinal and hip distortion, wear and tear, disc problems and more. In the end, these engrained and distorted physical and mental patterns rule your life.
BECOMING AWARE OF IT IS BUT YOUR FIRST STEP.
Patients come after 10, 20, and sometimes 30 years of physical and emotional suffering. There is a vivid sensation of being in a vicious circle with every attempt to heal through conventional methods reaching a dead end with no more hope for improvement. But if you need to change long-established painful “habits” into empowering healthy ones, you need skills in the repetitions! You not only need to learn the right exercises: mental and physical. You also need very high-quality teaching. Your habits are deeply engrained in your subconscious and your nervous system; with chronic pain, we are dealing with a complex field of information. It is by becoming aware, understanding and feeling those patterns in your body and mind that you will be able to change them.
So unless someone that understands this process interacts compassionately and with an open heart with this unfortunate field of information and gives you the tools to rearrange your brain, it is very difficult to change those “habits”.
HOW?
By understanding the underlying process that governs daily thought and physical activities. Understanding the “bad” habits perpetuated by a well-trained brain. Reinforcing the presence of the body in your consciousness: “Grounding” the mind in the body by monitoring thoughts through the body’s behaviours, posture and movements. Developing the most important muscle of all: awareness through the repetition of simple and yet powerful exercises, it becomes second nature…
The Human Posture – Key in the treatment of chronic pain and recurring injuries.
WITH OUR TREATMENT METHODOLOGY, UNDERSTANDING AND TREATING HUMAN POSTURE AND ITS DYSFUNCTIONS IS A HOLISTIC SCIENCE.
Studying the human posture is far more than looking into the physical alignment of our joints and the working of our musculoskeletal systems. At its origin, standing upright involved a massive shift in “human” consciousness. Today healing the human suffering that stems from postural dysfunctions demands a massive shift in our approach.
This holistic scientific approach recognizes that the patient is an undivided whole. The patients cannot be regarded as well-oiled machine anymore, with parts that sometimes break down and need repair. Even though one must recognize the undeniable value that this mechanical view of the human body has at times.
Posture is dynamic. It is a balancing act between groups of muscles working together to keep our bodies upright. It is how your body aligns and finds stability to oppose the pull of gravity, using the least amount of energy. For individuals and athletes, repetitive movement without a sound knowledge of the laws of alignment can play havoc on the body. Daily routines and faulty training are often the cause of repetitive injuries and poor performance.
Posture is the bodily manifestation of our thoughts, our state of mind. For instance, if you feel depressed, you will find it difficult to “stand tall”. It is important to know that stressful postural patterns can begin as a protective mechanism against emotional pain. The body and the mind interconnectedness enables us to discover the underlying order governing our daily life and contributing to perpetuating postural dysfunctions and its side effects: musculoskeletal pain, nerve pain, joint pain.
To read the body in such a way is an art and a science. We need the protocols for a systematic structural and functional assessment of the musculoskeletal system and its relationship with the brain, our nervous system, our emotions and our intimate perception of our sense of self.