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Kerry-Ann Telford Santa Monica. Yoga teacher.
Physical pain can make me impatient, fearful, depressed, and angry. I do the basics—eat well, drink water, get enough sleep. I treat myself with compassion and focus on softening into the injured area, not creating more tension. I remind myself pain is temporary as I breathe through the current difficulty. I practice patience, remembering that healing takes time. keriannetelford.com Photo: © 2012 sarit z. rogers / saritphotography.com
Brian Campbell Los Angeles. Yoga Teacher. Bodyworker.
Jo Tastula
Phoebe Diftler
Desi Bartlett
Kyra Anastasia Sudofsky
Venice. Yoga teacher.
Thai Massage therapist. Energy worker. Yoga teacher.
Venice. Spiritual life guide. Yoga teacher.
Venice. Yoga teacher. Holistic health counselor. Wedding officiate.
A serious allergy to painkillers has forced me into a respectful relationship with pain. I continuously come back to the Buddhist saying “pain is inevitable, suffering is optional,” as a guiding light. Fundamentally, pain is a sensory and cognitive response that protects us from harm. So essentially, it’s a good thing. Bringing this awareness to our pain body gives us the choice to move beyond the story and experience pain as a teacher rather than an oppressor.
When I work with clients, often digging deep into their body is the best way to release pain resulting from hardness, memories, or fear that might otherwise be stuck there forever. In my own life, dealing with something head on ultimately creates less pain than putting it off. I’ve found that sometimes you have to cause pain to release pain.
I address pain through natural remedies and essential oils. Then I sit with the pain and become present with it. Without having to change it, I simply embrace the experience of the pain. If needed, I will ask the pain what it needs, what the body needs, and what is my medicine (lesson) from the experience. Then I integrate the messages.
Studies show meditation reduces pain by 70%. When I accidentally locked my thumb in a car door, I knelt down, breathed deeply, and brought my mind to a quiet place. This moment of mindfulness allowed me to get focused, remove the key from my purse and laugh when the guard in the parking lot said, “Why would you do that?”
jotastula.com
phoebethaiyoga.com
Photo: James Wvinner
I go to the Korean spa. I move slower and challenge myself not to shrink and tighten around pain, but to breathe a little deeper, and feel into my body what needs to change—to support and bring less pain to that area. I do therapeutic Forrest yoga and get really good bodywork. Bodyworkyoga.com Photo: © A Karno
Samantha Mehra Venice. Yoga teacher.
SURRENDER. When pain shows up now, all I know is to serve it. Listen to it. It comes with a lot of information, and demands even more attention. By the time pain arrives in the physical realm, it’s already been tapping into the mental emotional psychic spaces.Meditate. Nurture it. Sleep with it. Bathe it. Massage it. Learn from it. samanthamehra.com Photo: Josue Peña
Jillian Wintersteen Venice. Yoga teacher.
First I try to relax the muscles involved or around the area of pain. Simply by bringing my awareness to the area can be enough to relieve tension. I direct my breath into the area to go deeper, using the exhale to release it. Once the area relaxes a little, I start to explore the source of the pain and experiment, with yoga, what relieves it and what exacerbates it. jillianwintersteen.com Photo: Scott Monett
jasoncfrahm.com
inspiredyoga.com
Photo: Anne Marie Fox
Photo: Carolina Franco
Matthew Cohen Venice. Yoga teacher.
I get quiet and ask, what medicine do I need? To return to balance, to restore radiant health, to be aligned with my life purpose. Are the medicines I need physical, energetic? Do I need to strengthen, stretch, create, dance, hike, or practice? I ask the question to myself, to spirit. I get quiet and wait, knowing the answers are coming. sacredenergyarts.com
exhale center for sacred movement. Venice CAlifornia. exhalespa.com
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exhale center for sacred movement. Venice CAlifornia. exhalespa.com
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