Pain and your nervous system

Last night at yoga therapy, I asked the two yogis, also brothers, about pain and how you know when to push through it. Since I'm starting physio next week, I figured that some pain was part of the process of getting my mobility back.

Their responses were really cool because they feel that pain is a signal from your nervous system that something is not right. That you should:

•  stop or slow down
•  try the action again with another muscle engaged (usually more core muscles)
•  Sometimes, the goal is to eliminate pain or, if you are living with chronic pain, the goal is to minimize it and then to relax your nervous system
• actively lay in quiet to relax your nervous system (20 minutes is perfect)
• use a pillow, foam or rolled up clothes to cushion your painful spot during active rest
• I tried all these techniques and they worked for me :)

Pain is not ideal and it stresses your body. I know this to be true because I've seen how my breath, heart rate and feelings can change to encourage or discourage: convulsions, muscle spasms, vomiting, eye twitching, stress and fear. I guess that this is all super obvious but I didn't stop and identify what my fast paced, push-through-the pain thoughts were doing within my own body.

Also, when you want water give it to yourself with pleasure. It's the only thing that's always good for you. I used to go to a super-intense yoga place where they asked that you not drink water..... and it was like 100 degrees Fahrenheit in there. So weird and yet, I did it because I thought I might look like the cute, bikini wearing girl in front of me. Guess what, I didn't and I was still thirsty.

p.s. It's recipe Thursday but I went to Globefish today and nary a recipe did I make. I'll do it tomorrow :).

Relax and try the yoga burrito

Here I am trying out a new relaxation technique. Yesterday was a bad day where I couldn't decide what to eat that wouldn't taste, smell or feel bad. My lazy choice led to me eating nothing and we all know that that just makes things worse!

Sidebar, medications often change a persons sense of taste or smell and I wonder why? Grandma Sanka said that this happened when she started her heart medication. The worst is when even water tastes bad... I always think of Michael Scott on The Office and his interpretation of what rabies does to people :). I've included a clip of that episode.

In the evening, after Kill graciously fed me :), I put on my earphones (34$ at the Sony store is the best quality for your money), made a soft playlist and laid down on 2 yoga blocks to support my upper back. Then Kill folded me up like a little burrito. It was lovely and allowed me to rest my brain.

Sometimes, I resist doing yoga or meditating because our apartment is too messy or noisy but this solved all those problems. Actually, Kill watched his fave show The Wire in the room, while I relaxed. It didn't change anything for me. Just do something strange, relax and slow down your nervous system because I promise, that good things will happen if you do.

Alternative therapies

It's funny to me that treatments like massage are "alternative" because I bet massage or gentle touch is the first way that a parent soothes their child when they're in pain.

Even though this picture is PG, Elle does do some great yoga

Even if you don't have a difficult illness you might still want to use chiropractic care, acupuncture, acupressure, massage, reiki, yoga or meditation to help your body and brain feel relaxed. I enjoy massage and recently, have started to really enjoy acupuncture. It's helped me with lockjaw after wisdom teeth extraction and back pain. My grandfather, BB, really found reiki helpful when he had cancer. Yoga is a bonding activity for my family and is a favorite of grandma Lavender and my friend Swag. Bert knows a thing or two about reflexology and I'm a novice meditator but it's improving!

I think that meditation is anything you find relaxing: gardening, reading, having a warm drink, playing music, cooking, laying quietly or wood working. The list is unlimited. I also think that picturing pleasant images helps with pain. When I had my first CT scan, I was scared because the injection makes you feel like you're peeing and it's hot in your veins. There's a "don't look at laser - causes blindness" sticker right in your face and you're wearing a gaping dress. I pictured every detail of my mums face until it was over and then it wasn't so bad. 

What do you do that might seem "alternative" to western medicine? What ratio would you say that you use Western vs. Eastern medicine? Western seems to be diagnostics, pills and physiotherapy while Eastern seems to be herbal tonics, energy flow and active release. Nutrition seems to straddle both sides right now, although it's in it's infancy in North America.

I bet I'm using a 70% West to a 30% East treatment plan right now and you?

*A picture of me getting a CT will follow but I've misplaced my camera cords*

Exercising - foolishly?

Every person that knows I'm sick has told me to "stay active". Although it can be annoying advice, I do agree with them because bodies work better when they can move. Last Friday, I went to a pool and I swam laps in the slow lane. I zig-zagged around for about 20 minutes, rather gently, I thought. However, for the last 4 days my right chest muscles have been so unhappy. The problem with vague advice like "stay active" is that I have no clue about the parameters.

Is working out more aggressively and longer better? Should I stay flexible? Should I do martial arts to get out my aggression or perhaps body building? This too is trial and error, just like most things in life. Here's what I know so far:

• Wrestling or sports where you get tossed around like a rag doll aren't ideal if you have weak bones (in my case due to cancer).
• Intense running can be a bit hard too. Running on grass is better than concrete (it's sad that this wasn't obvious to me).
• Cycling is lovely and low impact. Plus you can watch HGTV if you're at a gym.
• Walking is good, especially with a buddy.
• Light free weights can give some aesthetic definition to an illness ravaged body.
• Swimming and yoga are good but go about half as hard as you think you should (it would seem that concept is lost on me). If you do stay flexible and your back goes out you can use your feet to find clothes and dress yourself. I'm so grateful that this happened to me because I was not found both nude and immobilized.
• Congratulate yourself and try not to feel sad if you can't do what you once did or what other, hotter,  people are doing. I tell myself that I'm going to age more attractive than I was. Just watch it's real :).

In times where you're body wasn't it's strongest what exercise did you choose? What has been effective?

Although you guys aren't the most enthusiastic commentators so far, I will wear you down!