Think pills, creams and PT are your only options?

Hi you, 

Good morning!

At least I hope it’s a good morning. 

I know that when you’re really suffering from chronic pain the moments we call “good” can be few and far between. 

But it doesn’t have to be this way. 

I know you’ve probably tried every pill, cream, injection and/or physical therapy exercise and nothing has worked. I know the doctors haven’t been very encouraging and you’re not filled with the hope you need in order to withstand this kind of pain.

But there are still options. There is still hope.

There are things you can do to create real lasting change. 

I’m talking about mindbody medicine. 

What is mindbody medicine? 

Quite simply mindbody medicine uses mindbody techniques to ameliorate an incredibly long list of conditions…including chronic pain!

What are mindbody techniques? 

Mindbody techniques include things like:

• Mindfulness practices

• Yoga (hatha yoga, yin yoga, restorative yoga…)

• Breathing techniques

• Tai Chi

• Certain forms of Psychotherapy

• Hypnosis

• Biofeedback

Why are mindbody techniques so effective in treating physical health issues including chronic pain?

Well first of all the issue with just being treated with physical therapy and pills and injections and creams is that these techniques only address the body. What’s the issue with that? The impact of the mind on the body is totally being ignored!

We cannot separate the mind from the body. It is one fully integrated system.

You know how it’s not unusual to get a stomach ache when you’re nervous or get red in the face when you’re embarrassed? The mindbody is doing things like that all the time without you even realizing it! No thought goes unnoticed by the body and no physical experience goes unnoticed by the mind!

If you’ve been on the merry-go-round of doctors and specialists and haven’t seen any improvement it might be that mindbody techniques are the missing piece to your healing.

Mindbody techniques are now respected enough that when we use them to treat health issues we get to call it “mindbody medicine”! Fancy.

I believe mindbody medicine should be the foundation for all healing- especially for chronic pain!

In future newsletters I’ll tell you more about what’s happening in the brain when you’ve been in pain for a long time but for now just know that all those things doctors are suggesting (pills/creams/injections, PT) might be helpful, they might be super important, but it could be very challenging to get rid of your pain completely if you don’t address the fact that neural pathways have been created in your brain that are keeping you in pain and mindbody techniques are your way out!

Stay tuned in the coming weeks for newsletters sharing more information on:

• why your emotions and your thoughts matter more than you could imagine

• how the stories you tell yourself about your pain can make your pain worse

• what’s happening in your brain that’s keeping you in pain

Respond to this email and tell me:

have you tried a mindbody technique, if so, which one(s)?

What did you try? Did it help you at all? Did you give up on it for any reason?

As always feel free to reach out if you have any questions at all.

Wishing you deeper breaths and greater joy,