Welcome to Keys to Pain Relief – Meditation, Movement, Bowen Therapy! You’re probably here because you’re sick and tired of pain ‘ruling’ your life in one way or another.  None of us can escape the clutches of pain.  It will affect us all at some stage in our lives.  How much pain and how often is different for everyone.

You may be living with chronic pain and discomfort caused by illness or a long ago injury or trauma.  You may have acute pain because you lifted that heavy box of books and your back didn’t like it or maybe you were at a fitness class and twisted your ankle.

If you are like I was in the past you may have been to the physio, doctor, chiro or other professional and gained some relief but it’s still not resolving how you would like – the pain and discomfort just keep coming back or it doesn’t really change at all.

If this is the case then you are probably on a first name basis with ‘frustration’ and even emotional frailty because you are living with constant pain and discomfort and guess what, it gets you down, big time!!

Quality of life is very important and that realisation brought huge change into my life in 1998.  I had watched two beautiful nephews, one 10 years of age the other 20 months, struggle with life threatening illness which eventually claimed both their lives just 10 months apart.  This was devastating to their immediate families but also to the extended family.

Whilst their doctors and nursing staff were wonderful I had this feeling that there had to be more than just conventional medicine as we know it.  Surely there had to be a way that would complement the help they were already receiving.  In other words, was there something that would help improve quality of life for those suffering pain and illness.  I could never have saved my nephews but maybe I could help others in pain and discomfort experience a more enjoyable quality of life.

As a result of my grief and subsequent ponderings my life began to change and I discovered there are things we can do to help relieve pain and discomfort and improve quality of life, gently, naturally and non-invasively.  All of these things can be used at any age and stage of life.

1. Meditation – now you probably have this image of someone sitting in the lotus position chanting ‘Ohm’. Whilst some people choose to meditate in this fashion for extended periods of time it is not for everyone and definitely not me.  Meditation can be as simple as taking a 10 minute walk in the fresh air with no electronic equipment.  Maybe it is to lie down for 10 minute on your back and just stop!  Do you have a favourite piece of music that just helps you stop and breathe again?  My favourite is called Deep Peace off the ABC cd Swoon III.  None of these things are arduous, we just have to give ourselves permission to stop for 10 minutes out of 1440 minutes in a whole 24 hours.
2. Movement – You might be wondering what on earth I mean by movement.  Well as with anything if something is not in use for a while it will up either slow down and not work well or eventually seize up altogether.  I’m sure you would agree that pain plays a big part in slowing us down and some of us even stop doing things altogether and this is where the problem lies.  If we endeavour to include some gentle movement routine in our lives at least three times a week, if not a bit each day, then we are more likely to keep ourselves in a healthy and more flexible state of being, both in mind and body. “ Your mind and body are intimately connected. And while your brain is the master control system for your body’s movement, the way you move can also affect the way you think and feel.” (health.harvard.edu) (Harvard Health Blog -Srini Pillay MD contributor)
3. Bowen Therapy – Gentle body work is also of great benefit when needing pain relief.  I have found, from all the therapies that I have experienced, that Bowen Therapy brings me the greatest relief from discomfort and pain.  Bowen Therapy is a gentle, non-invasive, effective body therapy that helps your body begin to relax as well as addressing the cause of the pain and discomfort in your body.  Whilst no single therapy or pain killer helps everyone, Bowen Therapy has had great success for many people relieving their pain or reducing it significantly so people can resume active lives and feel whole again.  This is the reason I chose to become a Bowen Therapy Practitioner, so I could help people like you improve your quality of life.  Bowen is gentle enough to be used on infants and the frail and aged and everyone in between.  Bowen Therapy is also effective at helping the builder with the bad back or the office worker with the tight neck and shoulders, or the working mum who is stressed and pulled from all sides.

In future Blogs I will explore each of the above in a bit more depth.

So if you are wanting to live life and want help with discomfort and pain, remember to:

Meditate – take time out for you.

Move – for the health of your mind and body.

Bowen Therapy – the therapy of choice for gentle, non-invasive, effective pain relief.

Yours in wellbeing

Katrina