The Skillful Management of Pain

Sometimes, despite our best attempts, bad things happen.  We eat healthily, take our vitamins, exercise, do our Tai Chi, and still, we are struck by an illness, pull a muscle, or even find ourselves needing a surgery.  Inevitably, at some point in our life, we are going to be in pain, and perhaps even in a great deal of pain.

The typical response to pain is to try to block it out:  our muscles tense up, we withdraw our senses, become less aware, become distant. The world is seen as if through a veil, through a dream.  Often people can be in great pain, and not even know it, even though the symptoms are easily visible in their body.  This lack of awareness can slow the healing process as the whole body reflects the pain in a localized injury. This is called a sympathetic response, and, if you think about it, can be unhealthy - the entire body is tensed up simply to avoid feeling the pain in one small part of the body.

As Master Zi often says, pain and illness are caused by stagnation, and stagnation is caused by deficiency or excess.  In this case, the excess of tension in the body causes more stagnation, which compounds the body's problems and slows the healing process.

However, there is another, more skillful way manage pain.  Instead of blocking it out, become MORE aware of it.  Focus on the pain, and learn to work with it.  To relax the body, instead of tensing it up.  This won't make the pain go away, but it can transform the pain into something else.  Something more manageable, and this time, without the side-effects of numbing the spirit, or the damage to the energy flow in the rest of the body caused by trying to lock the pain away.

This second path is certainly the more challenging of the paths, but it is also the healthier of the two.  However, it is impossible to skillfully manage a great deal of pain without first developing the skill, and building up a tolerance.

In preparation for what may lie in the future, look at those moments where you experience small amounts of pain not as a burden, but as a gift, or an opportunity to develop your skill.

If you're holding the ball, and it becomes difficult, see if you can hold it a bit longer than you thought.  Embrace the pain.  Try to relax, and let if flow, instead of fighting it.  If you wake up, and your body is in pain, imagine relaxing the area that is in pain, being aware of it.  Senior student Reid often visualizes Tai Chi when he's in the dentist's office. Instead of allowing his body to tighten up, and walking away from the chair stressed and tense, he's able to walk away refreshed and relaxed.

I'm not suggesting you go out seeking to hurt yourself, and certainly don't do anything that would make an injury worse, but do embrace the challenges that come to you as opportunities to develop yourself and take your practice to a whole new level.