Do I have to live with more pain as I get older?

I want to share something with you.  Every single day I talk to people around my age (turned 50 in January!) and you know what I hear most often coming out of their mouths....all of the health challenges and the pain they are having.  Yes, we have turned into our parents and grandparents.  

But here's the important thing.  I know, in my heart of hearts that you don't HAVE to surrender to pain in your body.  And this is how I know.  I have struggled with lots of different health challenges MOST of my life and the truth is, NOW, 95% of the time, I have NO PAIN.   This isn't to say that I don't have challenges, I do.  However, physical pain isn't one of them.  And as a yoga teacher of 22 years and as someone who has tried lots of different approaches to health and wellness, as well as serving hundreds of people,  I know you can find a way to tend to your health where you can feel better as you get older.  Do things change, yes.  Is it a shift of lifestyle, yes.  Is it easy, no.  Is it worth it, ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY.

I talk a lot about emotional health and the nervous system but did you also know that your nervous system also affects your physical body?

Your nervous system lives inside your fascia which is the connective tissue of your body.  That system is a system of nerves that looks like roots or branches and it is designed to keep you alive and protect you.  It’s always sensing danger or safety and then shifting your system into different states to help you protect (fight/flight/freeze or dissociate) when there’s a threat and regulate (feel safe, at ease, open to possibilities, excited, play) when it feels safe.  When we’re in a state of threat there is going to be more tension, tightness, hypervigilance, and sensitivity to pain OR the opposite side of the spectrum, hypermobility (too loose in joints) which can also cause pain.  

If you have stuck stress energy in your body from current or past experiences that is called Trauma.  And the stuck energy can cause these protective responses and patterns to turn on causing chronic pain patterns in your body, sciatica, shoulder pain, back pain, knee pain, neck pain, migraines, and chronic fatigue.

In order to shift these patterns working with the nervous system in a gentle systemic way is crucial in repatterning how your system responds to stress

ALSO, your physical movement routine will also help with your nervous system.  More exercise is not always the best approach.  What I have found over the decades is that doing the same type of exercise all the time can have detrimental effects.  For example, there was a time in my life where I was doing strong 1-2 hour yoga practices 4-6x/weekk.  Right away you might think that is impressive but I will tell you, I had lots of pain.  I had a chronic shoulder injury, chronic neck and shoulder tightness, and sciatica that would flare up the more I practiced.  Too much of a good thing becomes detrimental to your health!

Now, I’ve found a rhythm with exercise that keeps me pain-free.  One of the most amazing things I’ve done is mixed it up.  I’m going to share what works for me but it’s likely NOT what works for you.  The point is to continue to experiment with something for a bit and let your body tell you if it’s too much or not enough.  Like, if you have pain that won’t go away or chronic tightness patterns etc something needs to change.  Keep experimenting and checking in to see what your body says to you.

I do:

Yoga (1-2 x)

Bowspring (1x)

Long walks (almost daily)

Dance class, Salsa or Bachata, or choreography  (1-2x)every week.  

The variation is so so important and so is doing LESS.

Need to add something different into your routine?

Join us for a class this week

Wednesday 9:30-10;30am Bowspring

Satruday 10am-11:15am Yoga

Class recordings available if you can’t make it live

Register here and I’ll send you the recording link

With LOVE and Regulation

Dorie