Three ways to work with your energy system to heal pain
In addition to being your body's built-in alarm system, pain is also a sign of stagnation. Prana, or energy, stays in a painful area to get you to pay attention. To relieve pain, it is important to get the energy flowing again.
Here are three ways to work with your energy system to heal pain:
Strengthen your bones. The function of the bone tissue is dharana, which means holding. Dharana is also one of the eight limbs of yoga, and the first stage of meditation. When we activate the bone tissue, it strengthens the bones, and it also strengthens our ability to concentrate, and to hold space for ourselves, so that we can hear our inner wisdom.
Lubricate your joints. Our joints are spaces between the bones, and space is dry, rough, and cold. When the joints get dried out and stiff, energy isn't conducted as well as it should be. Energy is basically electricity, and electricity is conducted by water. When we move our joints, they produce and circulate synovial fluid, which conducts energy and enables it to flow.
Spread awareness through your body. Prana follows citta (the mind). Since energy follows attention, one way to relieve pain is to spread your awareness throughout your body to enable energy to flow. Cultivating this spacious awareness requires being grounded, so it is important to first strengthen the apana vayu, which is the downward current of energy. It turns out that the best yoga practice I know for building apana vayu also happens to be a practice that strengthens the bones to support concentration, and that opens the joints to improve flow.
Want to learn more? Come experience it for yourself. My weekly classes are primarily focused on energy balancing and healing the nervous system. I'll also be leading a special workshop on Sunday, February 18th all about Bones, Joints, and Prana.
