Recently I had my first great experience with restorative yoga. I had always come away stiff and sore in my ribs and back when I tried restorative, but not this time- under the expert guidance of Sarahjoy Marsh from Portland. Her emphasis was on calming the nervous system and moving us into the parasympathetic rest […]
A break from your pain
April 14, 2014 by
Not all chronic pain is unrelenting 24/7, even if it often feels that way. For many of us who qualify for a CP diagnosis, there are periods of having little or no pain. If you feel that does not apply to you, please hold an open mind that it may in fact be a possibility. […]
Yes you can– dance with pain
March 16, 2014 by
Here are four ways to move and dance even with pain and limited ability: I promised I would not give you the standard 4 ways to… but you will find these are not standard. This kind of movement invites you to tune into your body and experiment. That takes some getting used to for most […]
Yoga for Pain Relief– Book review
March 4, 2014 by
This excellent book was written by Kelly McGonical, a professor at Stanford University, who has chronic pain herself. If you think yoga cannot be for you, then this is a good book to start with. It introduces you to the mind-body benefits and practices of yoga–what yoga really is about–not just physical poses, but there […]
Kids love these…
February 28, 2014 by
Finding the time and energy for meditation, yoga, imagery and some of the other ideas I suggest, may sound completely overwhelming if you are a parent. But what if you did these self-care techniques with your children? What if you could lower your stress level and your pain by sharing some of these activities with […]
The Mindfulness Solution to Pain- Book review
February 21, 2014 by
This book is new to my bookshelf and I am enjoying reading it. It came at a time when my body is pretty cranky and I needed a kind reminder why mindfulness and meditation can be so helpful. I love that the authors encourage daily meditation, even if you start with only 5 minutes. Both […]
Quick ways to relieve pain at your computer
November 30, 2013 by
If you are hurting during your office work day, or sitting at the computer after work trying to relax, you are in good company. Even though I don’t have chronic pain any more, my neck and shoulders often hurt at the end of the day from poor posture. When I found Undulation Exercises my body […]
Distraction, imagery, meditation and mindfulness
October 26, 2013 by
Which one should you use to manage your pain? How are they different? As usual, that depends. You might think of distraction as the one end of a spectrum and mindfulness as the other. Imagery and meditation then might be the tools to go either direction. All of them are useful at the right time. […]