Your Mind-Body Solution
For Chronic Pain

When everything looks shitty it’s really hard to feel hopeful about your health, the world, or otherwise. But if you’re armed with a little knowledge about how our nervous systems construct our reality — and, more importantly, how you can actively influence that — the possibility for seeing, perceiving, and then feeling something wildly different is suddenly right there. To stay afloat, you need to have some core, daily practices that help you get grounded and clear. So this post is a throwback to an elemental practice to keep you afloat in the alot-ness of life.

So you've tried Somatic Tracking for your chronic pain a bit but it doesn't seem to be working. You're feeling frustrated; impatient even. What's the deal? Does it not work? Is PRT a bad fit for you? Nope. That's not it. Somatic Tracking is a great practice for creating safety in our nervous systems around pain sensations. And, for most people it offers only one dimension of the healing process and is not a complete solution. When my clients stall out on pain relief from using that mindfulness practice alone, I know very clearly that it's time to go deeper and begin addressing the belief and emotional realms too.

For those of you that have successfully practiced Somatic Tracking for your chronic pain (see my "Somatic Tracking 101" blog for easy-to-follow tips on that practice) it's time to expand your skillset! There are a multitude of challenging experiences that can be viewed through the same lens as many types of chronic pain -- that the nervous system is simply misinterpreting experiences that are safe as dangerous. In many situations beyond chronic pain the core Somatic Tracking skills can be used to find resolution & ease too. So, get good at your "101" skills first, and then give these advanced applications a try!

I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed on the Touching Into Presence podcast by my good friend and fellow practitioner Andrew Rosenstock. In our chat we discussed my career journey, the concept of Mind-Body Coaching, and the complexities of working with clients. We also explored the principles and practices of Hakomi, the importance of mindfulness, and the value of humor in therapy. Lastly, we discussed the challenges and rewards of our roles and the significance of bringing emotional connection into business. Have a listen!

When you've thrown everything at your pain with minimal results it can feel like you're staring down the most complicated math problem you can imagine (like this poor guy in the image). The good news? Advances in the neuroscience of pain over the last decade or two have helped us get a much better understanding about the core inputs that go into the pain experience. Pain is, in many ways, a simple equation that your nervous system puts together, and if you learn what that is you can take the fuel out of the pain experience. Learn more about that equation here.

Pain can be a tricky thing to solve, especially when you’re dealing with long-term, chronic pain conditions. If your pain is relatively new, or the result of a recent injury, the clear order of the day is to simply be patient and do what’s needed to let your body heal. But if you’ve been challenged by more complex, chronic pain, the foundation of healing rests on one key thing: creating safety in your nervous system. Read on to learn some straightforward tools to help you do just that.