Got Pain! – then I want to meet you!

Not because I’m celebrating your pain but because I’ve been there and done that… & really understand the drive to feel better, particularly when you feel like you’re stuck in pain.

Here’s what I mean. Years ago, I was in a 70 mph head-on auto accident in Mexico.  At the time of my accident, I experienced the following:

• Loss of my short term memory
  • AKA if you and I were talking and I turned to a mutual friend to tell them what we had just been talking about, I would be clueless and absolutely unable to say anything.
• Non-stop pain
  • I couldn’t sit for any length of time – and if I had to attend a lecture (or the like), within minutes I had to get up and stand in the back of the room.
  • I felt lucky to get 2 hours of sleep – I was constantly awakened by the pain.

Fed by my perspective on pain, & my drive to feel Pain-free again, I pursued advanced degrees, trainings, certifications, and ultimately, years of studies and now I can help you feel great again through the science-based magic of Orthopedic Massage and The Mind Body Whisperer Massage Method!

One of the foundational concepts of The Mind Body Whisperer Massage Method focuses on the concept that the language of the body is

• pain,
• emotions, and
• imagery

This understanding comes from a combination of my studies in

• Neuropsychology,
• Orthopedic Massage Therapy,
• And my budding studies in personal training

As a Quick Sidebar – I have a Master of Science in Clinical Psychology and I Advanced to Candidacy for my PhD also in clinical psychology.

So to give you an idea about how I came to understand the concept of pain as the language of the body, let me share a story based on my studies in neuropsychology.

But, first, a quick background and “info bit” about the brain, namely, brain speed is hyper-speed.  In other words, brain speed is measured in milliseconds or 1/1000^th of a second.

So, on with the story…

Imagine that you and I are walking in nearby woods.  And on the ground, about 50 feet ahead of us, there is a black cylindrical object sitting at ground level and seemingly peeking out from the weeds.

And Here are the things that are fascinating to me and helpful to my clients’ understanding of their mind & body!

Here it is…

In about 50 one-thousandths of a second, our brains have

• Registered that cylindrical object,
• Determined that it could cause us harm.
• Has sent an action-oriented message to our body

All so that our bodies can react to the situation and work to keep us safe.  So all that is happening starting at 50/1000ths of a second – BAM – It’s FAST!

So with that kind of rocket speed the Brain and the Body are both initiating and working their Plan of Attack – To Keep us SAFE!

Curiously, it’s not until much later – in brain speed terms –

At about 300 milliseconds that we start to have a conscious thought that the black thing up there ahead of us might be a snake and might not be SAFE

That also means that since there are no thoughts registering in our conscious minds (not our brains – our brains are still working,) there is no conscious recognition about all of the Safety Measures and Reaction Strategies that our brain and body are putting in place to protect us.

In other words, the brain and body have been working in the dark – almost like an Ops mission – to keep us safe.

So to recap, until 300 milliseconds, we have no conscious clue about what’s going on with that possible snake in the weeds!

And it’s yet another 100 milliseconds – for a total of 400 miliseconds – AKA the before we start to form words so that we can say “OMG, that might be a snake!”

And it’s even longer before our brain processes allow us to consciously evaluate the situation, determine that it’s only a stick, and laugh and say,

“OMG, that was just a stick!”

So in summary, the brain and body are working “in the dark” or subconsciously to keep us safe from about 50 milliseconds to 300 milliseconds

AND THEN we have conscious thoughts about the possibility of that snake

AND THEN we form words to express the possibility of that snake

AND THEN we determine whether its a snake or a stick

• And ultimately, laugh at our situation

So if you think about it, the brain and the body are working much faster than either your thoughts or words.

Further, and I find this interesting, the body is largely governed by the lower brain in the right hemisphere while word formation is a more upper cortical function housed in the left hemisphere of the brain.

And so, perhaps, the body doesn’t always prefer to take the “extra time” to engage the longer path that crosses-over hemispheres to engage the “word-centric” area of the brain

• Preferring, for our safety and the like, to remain more non-verbal and action oriented.

And so, it there is some suggestion that the body is not averse to communication though opts for languaging that occurs faster than words.

And on this basis, there is an argument that, because of the layout and tendencies of the brain, that the body can utilize pain and emotions as its best and fastest language.

In this context, pain takes on another dimension – a mode of communication rather than an offensive intrusion on our lives.

So now, we can recognize that when we feel pain, The message IS NOT that “my body is all messed up,”

but IS Instead a call for help – a plea from the body that something’s not quite right here – as if the body could say, “Hey, We Need a Shift Here.”

We need a shift in the way we’re moving OR

We need some relief for this imbalance in our muscles OR

We need to shift the way a particular network of muscles are interacting to make our forward motion more efficient and less painful, etc. etc.

AS if, “we need help here so that we can Optimize our Function and Strength AND IMPORTANTLY, Minimize our Pain & Discomfort.

The body has so much to say to help us live

• In safety
• In comfort
• In efficiency
• In Pain-Freedom

And so, through our work together, at The Mind Body Whisperer, we create a space for the body to communicate its discomforts and to facilitate a shift to its optimal muscle mechanics so that you can Optimize for Your Favorite Sport and Pain-Free Living!

So, if You’re Ready to Get Optimized and Pain-Free

Call or Text me, Christine, @ 302/593-9262 or email me @ TMBW.Massage@gmail.com

& LET’s GET STARTED!