Integrative Pain Management, Part 3: Qi, Imbalance, and Pain

This is a continuation of my Integrative Pain Management series, based on content selected from my chapter of the book Integrative Pain Management: Massage, Movement, and Mindfulness Based Approaches. 

See also: Part 1, and Part 2. 

For in-depth routines to deal with upper back pain, lower back pain, and other conditions, check out my video courses on Udemy!

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Tai Chi is not like other martial arts or physical activities in the western world. Tai Chi is about body, mind, breath, energy, and spirit. Rather than being focused on building explosive strength or aggressive action, tai chi cultivates calmness, stillness, and balance.

This balance is well-represented in the yin-yang symbol, and in the relationship between the body and the mind. In Chinese philosophy, the mind and body are made of, and connected by, qi. Qi can be thought of as the energy that circulates through the body. By connecting consciously with our qi, we can affect the body and the mind in positive ways. But this connection exists even when we aren't familiar with it, and mental and emotional stress can cause physical symptoms, such as chronic pain.

When pain occurs in the body, eastern philosophies typically diagnose it as an 'imbalance.' This imbalance could be tension in certain areas of the body, stiffness in certain tissues, or any number of other things. To reestablish balance, tai chi develops the opposite, and yet complementary, sides of the yin-yang relationship. Strength and flexibility. Movement and stillness. Breathing in and breathing out.

It is helpful to think of pain as the body's way of sending the mind a message. It is saying, "Hey! Something is not working properly! Pay attention to it." As you begin to do a regular tai chi routine for chronic pain, you will learn to connect your mind with more specific details of your pain than just "hurting" or "not hurting." You will be able to idetify where the pain originates, and what movements and exercises help it the most.

Next week, we'll discuss the components of a tai chi practice and how it actually increases function in the body as a whole, and fights pain as part of a holistic, integrative treatment.

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Speaking of balance and imbalances, coming up on Sunday June 26th, I am teaching a 3 hour class on Balance and Stability at YMAA in Andover, MA from 11am-2pm. Please register and join us! I hope to see you guys there.

Integrative Pain Management, Part 2: Mind and Body

This is a continuation of my Integrative Pain Management series, based on content selected from my chapter of the book Integrative Pain Management: Massage, Movement, and Mindfulness Based Approaches. 

See also: Part 1.

For in-depth routines to deal with upper back pain, lower back pain, and other conditions, check out my video courses on Udemy!

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Pain is not just a physical sensation, it is also a psychological phenomenon. This is particularly true of chronic pain, which can go on long after a physical injury has healed. The interplay between mind and body when it comes to pain is extremely complex, but there is one thing about it that is dead simple: the power of the mind cannot be ignored.

An amazing example of this power is a condition called Phantom Limb Pain. This effect can occur when an injured or paralyzed limb is amputated, but the amputee continues to experience pain as though the limb were still there. Obviously, when a limb is amputated, the nerves that were responsible for sensing pain in that limb are also gone. However, the brain has 'learned' over months or years of real pain, that the limb, even after it is gone, is in pain. it isn't until the unconscious mind can 'unlearn' that the limb is in pain, and instead learn that the limb is gone, that the chronic pain will go away.

This technique of experiencing the pain and then learning to release it via the mind is one of the main reasons that integrated strategies for managing pain have so much potential. Mind-body techniques like Tai Chi target pain in both the body and the mind. A dedicated mind-body pain management routine can simultaneously reduce pain caused by the tissues, as well as pain caused by a learned psychological pattern, or other mental obstacle.

Next week, we'll discuss how Eastern philosophies reconcile the split between mind and body into the flow of energy, or qi, in the body, and how that relates to our experience of pain.

Happy Stretching!

Integrative Pain Management, Part 1: The Problem of Pain

Chronic pain is a common symptom of countless conditions and injuries. Whether it's from fibromyalgia, knee osteoarthritis, cancer, or any other ailment, chronic pain can take you from 60 to 0 in no time flat. When doctors can't treat the underlying causes of chronic pain, "Take two aspirin and call me in the morning" just doesn't cut it.

Over the years, numerous solutions to the problem of chronic pain have developed, such as surgery, Cortisone shots, and Physiotherapy, to name a few. Each of these strategies has their ups and downs with regards to cost, invasiveness, permanence, chance of success, and so on. Many people find that one or more of these treatments is the solution they were looking for. Others, however, try all of them without any luck.

A recent development in the world of pain treatment is the widespread use of prescription painkillers, opioids in particular, which are a type of drug that works on the nervous system directly to inhibit pain. Common prescription opioids for pain relief include oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and fentanyl, an accidental overdose of which is believed to have caused the death of the late great musical artist Prince. 

The consequences of prescribing addictive substances to patients, even in highly controlled dosages, are only coming to light now. The numbers, however, are already staggering. In 2012, 259 million opioid prescriptions were written in the US, which is enough to give one bottle of pills to every adult in America. In 2014, nearly 2 million Americans were addicted to prescription pain killers, and in the same year, almost 19,000 Americans died from overdosing on them. The rate of such deaths has quadrupled since 1999. (For these stats and more, check out the ASAM's opioid addiction report, as well as the CDC's section on opioid overdose.)

And perhaps the worst part of this national situation is that these people still have chronic pain. The painkillers only work for as long as they are taken, and eventually the body will develop a tolerance for the medications that will make them less effective. The solution that I and many others have collaborated on is Integrative Pain Management. This mind-body approach not only avoids the dangers of prescription medication or surgery, but also seeks to incorporate the entire being (body, breath, mind, energy, and spirit) into the healing process, and fix the underlying causes of the chronic pain so that, through practice and discipline, it can be cured and not just numbed.

Over the next several weeks I will be posting integrative pain management content selected from my chapter in the book Integrative Pain Management: Massage, Movement, and Mindfulness Based Approaches. Share the blogs with your friends, post them on Facebook, and retweet me on Twitter so that we can get this pain-fighting knowledge to the people who need it.

Happy Stretching!

Tai Chi Ball Workout Guide

When Pedro Martinez returned to Fenway in 2006 as a pitcher for the Mets, Boston honored him with a video tribute at the beginning of the game series, even though he was on the opposing team. The next day Pedro was the starting pitcher for the Mets, but he only lasted three innings, giving up several runs in quick succession.

My friend and student, Larry Lucchino, told me afterward that Boston had "killed Pedro with love." Too many emotions and memories had flooded Pedro's mind, and he was unable to perform.

I also struggled for a long time to take the forces of life that were coming at me and work with them, rather than fight them. When you fight the energy of the moment, you underperform. It is so important to learn how to utilize the energy coming at you, and direct it into something constructive.

That is what practice with the Tai Chi Ball is all about. The ball represents the energetic force of the world around you. The goal is to be like water, yielding, and then forceful. The ball is the energy being absorbed, and then used against itself.

As you go deeper into this practice, you see that this energy you are absorbing and returning can also be something life difficulties in life, or troubling emotions. You take the energy of these problems, and you turn it on the problems to help solve them.

Easier said than done, but here are the motions to practice:

"Grind": Move the ball in a circular motion in front of you, always keeping it roughly level with your navel, as if you were grinding it into a table. Begin with 15 circles in each direction.

Ahn Circles: Move he ball in a circular motion in front of you, always keeping it in-line with your spine, as if you were spinning it around on a big bicycle wheel. Begin with 15 circles both toward you, and away from you.

Advanced Motion, One Arm: This motion includes two circles, one under your armpit, and another above your head. Watch the video to see exactly how it is done. Begin with 15 circles, in forward, and then reverse. Then switch arms and repeat.

If you want to experience this yielding and utilizing forces exercise even more, also practice Centering with a partner, which deals with exactly the same principles.

Happy Stretching!

Advanced Tai Chi Ball Motion

To complete the series on techniques using a Tai Chi Ball, here is the advanced single-arm motion. Do it on both sides with a weight that you can handle, and good luck!

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Don't forget! Soon we are beginning our series on Integrative Pain Management. There is going to be a lot of important information in the upcoming blogs, so stay tuned and get your friends to subscribe!

Ahn Circles with Tai Chi Ball

Part 2 of our Tai Chi Ball Exercises incorporates the Ahn motion into the workout. Picture a wave in the ocean, crashing on the beach, and then lifting a boat out at sea. Then reverse it for the next set. These circles are considered the "intermediate level" of Tai Chi Ball exercise.

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Two Exciting Announcements!

Thank You for helping me get to over 300 subscribers on my Youtube channel! Every person we connect to the mind-body community is another person experiencing a higher quality of life. Keep it going! We're getting close to 450 likes on the Facebook page, too.

Coming Soon on the Blog: An important post series on pain medication, opiates, addiction, and the alternatives that can be found in integrative pain management. If you or someone you know has struggles with chronic pain, or wants to try something besides prescription pain killers, then this series is a must-read.

Happy Stretching!