Bu Tong Ze Tong, Tong Ze Bu Tong. This phrase, taken from the The Yellow Emperor's Classic of Medicine written around 200BC, translates literally as: “when open there is no pain, when there is pain, it is not open.”
This is one of the basic principles of my practice as a pain/massage therapist. If we can allow the energy (qi) to take it’s natural course of healing, then it pushes against the blockages or stagnation until there’s enough energy pushing on it that it clears it out. Think of river with a dam in it. On one side of the dam, the river becomes a pool of stagnant and rotten smelling water, while the other side dries out, devoid of all life and energy. When the water is flowing, the river is healthy and self cleaning. It's the same with your body, flowing energy means healthy cells and tissue.
Body awareness is another of my guiding principles for living a pain life. In my Tai Chi and Qigong classes, I am constantly urging my students to take a moment to just breathe, and become aware of their bodies. People today are so focused on the destination, they forget to take care and be aware of the vehicle they travel in! Pain is just a signal from the body telling us it needs help.
Some people just live with the pain, saying it's just a part of old age, or results of an old sports injury. Some even seem to wear their pain like a badge of honor!
In time, the pain may lessen, and even disappear, but this doesn't necessarily mean the cause of the pain has been resolved. The human body is an amazing machine, and one of it's talents is to hide or mask pain, so that we can get through our day. Many of my massage clients are surprised at the number of sore or painful spots I discover on their body. These are areas of blockage, places where the energy has stopped flowing. This creates a cascade effect in the body, blocking blood flow and qi, which in turn causes muscle and ligaments to not function, which creates pain and lack of mobility.
Today is a great day to start taking care of yourself. Move you body - take a class in Tai Chi, Qigong or Yoga. Eat with moderation, and only when you are hungry. Drink water and avoid soft drinks. And yes, whenever possible, get regular massages to stay in the flow!
Tom
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