Creative  Healing  Movement

~ Coping With Pain ~

As a Movement Therapist and Meditation, Continuum, Yoga Instructor, I have often given advice to clients about physical pain.  Personally I have also had days or years of coping with pain and rehabilitation.  This article offers actions I have taken when pain has left me immobile, tired, depressed, angry, and overwhelmed.  

Escaping into breaks can be a way of distracting from the intensity of the pain.  Try anything that is simple, easy, and peaceful, like sitting outside, talking to a pet, reading, crafts, or movies.  Overwhelmed is a common feeling, when trying to heal mentally, physically, and emotionally from an injury or illness.  There is often the stages of grief while processing and interacting with pain.  Take the time to fall apart so there is a possibility to realign, regroup, and rehabilitate with more coherence.



Lifting up and lengthening by tightening the abdominal muscles is a repetitive cue the brain can send the body.  This takes pressure off of many of the joins that are a common source of pain.  There is often one position to sit or lay in that is less painful than another.  Pillows or completely flat can feel very different.  Make use of choices.   

Engaging muscles is a way of recruiting support and bracing for less painful movement.  When I have to stand up or move more, I take a breath, tighten the muscles in my stomach and bottom, then move slowly while exhaling.  This gives the responsibility to my muscles instead of the connective tissue or joint that needs to repair. 

Taking turmeric, a natural anti-inflammatory, can support the body’s mobility because of reduced pressure on a cellular level.  Reducing caffeine can help to calm and increase healing by supporting the parasympathetic system.

Applying ice topically, is often recommended for pain, tension, and swelling.  I often use a muscle rub, applied topically, instead of ice.  One natural rub created by BeeBoys.org includes; coconut oil, Beeswax, Menthol, and Cayenne.  These rubs may reduce soreness and increase circulation.  It has helped me to apply this before and after times of activity and before bed. 

Lowering expectations is helpful.  When the body is in pain, it is difficult complete physical or mental tasks.  There have been times when I have pushed myself to follow advice and, “play through the pain.”  Following that advice doubled or tripled my recovery time.  Small things like sitting up quickly to tend to someone else, put me back at the beginning of my rehabilitation. 

Separating from others can help to create a calm healing environment, contemplation, time for journaling, and rest.  You may need to turn off lights, reduce noise, rest, and remind others around you to lower their expectations of you.  It can be difficult to answer the questions of “how are you?”, if you feel pressured to provide a certain answer or that others are not understanding.   

Earthing has been studied and shown to reduce pain, inflammation, and increase healing.  This is achieved by laying under a tree, leaning on a tree, putting bare feet on stone, grass, or sand.  The connection to the planet is achieved when we remove rubber soled shoes and allow our breathing to shift.  

Movement is important.  Small, gentle, slow, movement with awareness and presence can be very healing to the body, even when it is sore or slightly painful.  Movement encourages blood flow, oxygen flow, and helps the body to remove toxins.  You may want to try small gentle stretching motions throughout the day; morning, afternoon, evening, and before bed.

Water movement is very therapeutic if you have access to a bath, hot tub, or a swimming pool.  Time in water is detoxifying and can encourage fluid movements to ripple through the extremities or spine. The temperature of the water can work like a heating pad, ice pack, or alternating baths.  Jets from a hot tub can massage muscles and connective tissue through alternating sitting positions. 

Meditative movement like Tai Chi, Qigong, or Continuum Movement are gentle ways to meditate, massage, stretch, and exercise the body.  They are preformed slowly with an importance placed on feeling the body and sensing every movement.  When the body is in pain there is tension that builds and a resistance to movement.  Focusing on moving an area of the body that is more mobile can help to encourage energy flow and take the focus off of the source of the inflammation.    

Human hands are full of healing energy and are directly connected to our heart, generating the largest electromagnetic field in the body.  I remember being a child and complaining to my mother that my knee hurt.  She said, “rub it.”  Placing hands on the painful area can bring attention, awareness, and conscious positive energy to that location.  Feel the body moving with the inhale and exhale of breaths.  

The mind signals hormones, tension, and healing.  If you have an injured shoulder, you might put one hand on the injured shoulder and one hand on the healthy shoulder.  Try feeling into the experience of a healthy shoulder and the differences between the two.  Encourage your body to use the healthy area as a blueprint for healing reconstruction.  This is one way to bring the mind’s awareness into the matter of the body.  

Ask the pain.  What do you need?  How can I help you?  Are you ready to take a walk outside?  Notice the very next thoughts and respect that as your body’s answer.  

Journaling through words, sketching, and scribbles can help to document, acknowledge, and express the emotional, mental, and physical experiences as they shift moment to moment.  It also can be helpful to add colors, lines, and words that feel encouraging or are needed for healing to occur.  Try to explain your thoughts or sketches to someone who can listen without judgement or advice.  

Written by Kathryn Rone, MA, RSMT in 2020