On Pain and Suffering

After nearly 20 years in the health and wellness industry, studying yoga, anatomy, nutrition and more, I woke up with back pain.

Sound familiar?

How many times has the healer needed healing? Eons ago, I hurt my back riding horses over fences and the doctor told me if I didn’t fix it I would need surgery. So I fixed it with Pilates, Yoga, Physical Therapy and more.

Then the pain came back. It’s good to know some things don’t change. Har har.

When pain happens, I study it.

“How did it happen? What makes it better?

How can I avoid this in the future?”

Also, because I’m in the yoga biz, I’m not alone. I have wonderful teachers, mentors and friends in wellness. I reached out to many. This is what they said:

“How did it happen? What makes it better?

How can you avoid this in the future?”

The Buddha tells us “Suffering is optional.” Clearly he didn’t have back pain! If you don’t attach to the pain, if you recognize that it is temporary, if you breathe and meditate, then the suffering becomes less. But it is not optional when every breath causes you to wince and groan.

So this is what I know for sure. It’s not much, but I’ll share what I can.

Pain Happens

Yup. It’s a part of life. It is 100% part of the experience of being human. This makes me feel better when honestly I think I should have known better.

We are a Faulty Design

The spine wasn’t meant to hold an upright human being. It was created for a quadruped, like an ape on all fours. When we stood upright, the brain advanced but the body stayed as it was. If you believe that God created man, He didn’t make this design with the idea that we would be sitting so much. We have to work with what we’ve got.

There is No One Solution

I wish there was! Some will say to grip the core, and others say the core should be soft on the outside with the deep internal muscles engaged. I take Pilates, and my teacher hates my ribcage and my tailbone. She is constantly putting my ribs in and my tailbone flat-ish – like a small curve forward.

Then my beloved yoga teacher hates my tailbone. She is constantly putting it back. However, she also hates my rib cage jutting forward. Everyone hates my rib cage, except my first beloved yoga teacher who trained me to stick it out in the first place.

How about twists? One yoga school will tell you to relax the abdomen, grab it and move it over. Another will instruct to engage the core and then slightly resist the twist.

Guess what? Some of it works, some of the time. But none of it works, all the time.

Try Everything

The best treatment is to be curious. I am finally better, so everyone wants to know what I did to cure back pain! Hell if I know, and that’s the truth. When I work with students in pain, I will often try two or three things. They say, “just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.” The answer is just not that easy, I’m sorry to say.

To rest, or not to rest?

Some advocate rest and some swear by gentle movement. I’m in the gentle movement camp because having been bedridden once or twice in life, it did not help and created more problems. But, there were a few days this week that I could not move, so I didn’t. I’m thinking that listening to your body might help here.

Always Remember the Experience

Somehow when I’m not in pain, I forget all about my problematic back. I believe I am invincible. Friends: The ego is not your amigo. If you can remember that you are a vulnerable human being with a faulty design, then perhaps you’ll pass on that Power Yoga class. Or whatever it was that got you here.

But if you forget, I’ll be right there with you. I promise.

Michelle Marchildon is the Yogi Muse. She’s an award-winning writer and yoga teacher based in Denver, Colorado. You can find her at www.yogimuse.com