This week, I want to share a powerful experience that I had using the introspection I offered last week.
How focusing on my pain healed my pain.
In my search for health, early on, I spent 6 years at Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health as a resident staff member. My pain was very severe when I arrived there. We did yoga each morning.
When I shared the experience of my “pain”. They suggested treating pain as a sensation. A more neutral term. It was also suggested to breathe and watch the pain rather than react to it. Also to breathe into the pain.
I was doubtful that this would do any good, but decided to give it a try. It was certainly a new concept for me.
One day, my pain was particularly strong. Even off the yoga mat, there was a persistent pain that wouldn’t go away. I decided to take a warm bath. During the bath, I allowed myself to set with the pain and breathe into it as I had been instructed.
What happened after that changed my life.
It started with a memory of my Grandfather’s death when I was about 14. I was devastated by his death and wouldn’t even get out of bed for a few days. I was heart broken. The grief was overwhelming. I continued to breath and allowed myself to fully feel the grief.
As I continued to breathe the grief passed and I felt the love that my grandfather gave me. I was so devastated because he was one of the few people that I truly felt loved by and safe with. It was a great loss.
As I continued to breathe and watch my experience unfold, I got some insights about how my grandfather’s death impacted my relationships with men. It was only a year or two after his death that I began feeling an attraction to boys/men and then dating. I realized that for most of my life I had been looking for the unconditional love that I felt from my grandfather in my relationships with men. And that I had never really found that love.
Because of my grandfather’s unconditional love for me had I unconsciously set the bar really high. But at the same time, I was so desperate for love, that I would stay in a relationship that wasn’t right for me. Always hoping for that unconditional love. It never really came.
By the time the bath was over, the pain was gone. I had released the grief over my grandfather’s death and reconnected with the unconditional love that he had given me. I also had a new perspective on relationships with men that was much more healthy for me. I knew what unconditional love felt like and knew that was what was most important in a relationship.
This was a life changing event.
This is just one example.
My story above is just on example of the transformative power of listening to the body. It was the first for me and I was pretty blown away by the power of it. I now knew that I had stumbled upon a powerful tool for healing and transformation.
Over the last 37 years since this experience, I used this to help heal my body and resolve unresolvable issues in my life. Rather than trying to figure out from my mind how to resolve a problem, I engaged my body and released what was blocking resolution and getting insight and resolutions to the root of the issue.
I have used this to heal my relationships with my mother, father, siblings, men, co-workers and friends. All the while also resolving the pain in my body.
Here is a link to last week’s blog so you can try it.
Weekly Practice
Take some time this week to explore connecting with your body. Take 15 minutes a day to spend focused on your body. It will help you repair your relationship with your body. Your body needs to be your ally rather than your enemy. It wants to be healthy. It wants you to be happy and fulfilled. Next week, I will talk more about listening to the body and hearing your own pain.
May you and your body become friends, 💗Bindu
P.S. Although this is a powerful tool, sometimes our subconscious mind blocks our ability to feel and release the emotions. In such cases a session with a practitioner can assist with the process. I am such a person having experienced this transformation personally and professional trainings to facilitate others through this process.
If you are interested, I offer a free Heart Healing Session. Just click here to request a session