Transcript

In Part 1 and Part 2 we looked at how the positions of your feet and legs can have a profound effect on creating aches and pains in your lower body.  In this third video, we are going to look at your body, at your torso and see how tension here can contribute to aches and pains.

Sign up for my free video training program ‘3 Mindful Steps and a remedy for pain relief‘ for extra help.

 Mindfulness awareness questions

Answer these questions about how your body feels:

Do you find that you are quite stiff? Do you need to go around rubbing any part of you that aches or do you find that you need to keep moving? You can’t sit or stand or stay in any one position for any length of time because it makes you feel uncomfortable.  All of those are indicators of stiffness.

What about turning over in bed? Is that easy or is it a bit of a wrestling match? Again, that is another indicator of stiffness.

Can you sit down in a chair and stand up again just using your own legs? Or have you got to use your hands to help you?

How easy do you find it to get down to the floor? Can you kneel, squat or lie down….and then get up again just using your own muscle strength. If the answer is no or ‘it’s a bit of a struggle’ then that is a combination of muscles stiffness and muscle weakness.

How stressed are you at the moment? How stressed have you been in the last two or three years?

If you can answer YES to stiffness, YES to muscle weakness and YES to stress, then those factors combined are likely to be generating a lot of the aches and pains that you are feeling.

Fight or flight mode tightens your body up

When we feel stressed our body drops into ‘fight or flight’ mode.  Your muscles become shortened and tightened.  If you stay stressed up for long periods of time, your muscles never really come out of it.

When your muscles are short and tight they don’t move properly.

When your muscles aren’t moving as they are designed to then your joints don’t move either.  They can become sore and inflamed.

When your muscles are stiff you become vulnerable to falling or stumbling.  In those situations, it’s very easy for your muscles to tear.

All of those things are going to be a great recipe for chronic pain.

How is mindfulness going to help with all of this?

Mindfulness wakes you up to what you are doing!  It makes you aware of what is going on in your mind and in your body.  You can detect stress patterns much earlier in the process of them building up and do something to change them.

The best way to strengthen your mindfulness is to learn to meditate!

Meditation teaches you how to be relaxed and calm.  Then it’s much easier for you to notice when you are becoming anxious, uptight, worried or stressed.

Meditation gives you the capacity to bring yourself back down into that calm, relaxed state.

Meditation teaches you different mindfulness techniques that you can apply at work, when you’re driving, or when you’re with your family and friends.

If you think you are ready to learn to meditate, then click on the link.  It takes you to a short, introductory training course to get you going!

If you are not sure if meditation is for you yet, then pop some questions in the box below. Then we can have a chat about whether meditation is the right thing for you.I really look forward to hearing from you.

 

Further Reading for Pain Relief

Part 1 – Assess how you sit

Part 2 – Assess how you stand

How to stop neck and shoulder pain with Mindfulness

How to stop tension headaches with Mindfulness

Achieve more calm in your day – Try my Nine Breaths for a Calmer Mind download