by Cate McNider (originally published here)
What we want is for our pain to go away. What we need is to pay attention to what we do that creates the pain. Our wants aren’t satisfied without energy put into it, right? Our needs are a lot simpler than our wants, and are often delivered in unexpected ways. Our wants, well, we can want endlessly, about all kinds of things, but what we actually receive sometimes falls short of that list, right? And other times, what we receive is actually better and along the line of our needs instead.
You want that neck/back/hip/knee (insert particular_____) pain to go away, but what do you do? You keep practicing the same movement or habitual way of straining it that creates the pain. You need to deal with this. Or it’s just going to get worse as time piles up over the years, but that’s what we do, because we’re busy, I get it. What if you looked at the problem with an easy solution?!
Deal with the way you are moving and thinking and ‘holding yourself together’. Take that 1 hour out of the week to experience letting go of the extra tension, and unlearning the habit that is preventing you from getting what you want. A more easeful and enjoyable life! Correct?
One hour a week, to receive compassionate, hands-on instruction, and walk out feeling lighter than you ever remember feeling.
The ‘pursuit of Happiness’ is in our constitution, but what do we pursue instead?! Pain in the pursuit of what we think will make us ‘happy’. Stuff doesn’t ultimately make us happy, a sharp new suit or dress may make us feel confident as we walk into that interview, but with a hunched over back, knee pain and nervously gripping our resume. The new clothes may look great, but what’s underneath them messages more to the employer than you think. Improving how we deal with stimulus is a game changer.
A healthy posture is not pulled back shoulders and a sucked in stomach that fitness guru’s endlessly push on an already misled world. Natural is not narrowing the back, or sucking your gut in, not allowing a natural breath or stiffening your neck!
Rediscovering what a natural ‘posture’ is, is a process of letting go of all these false advertisers, and beliefs of what our mother said when we slumped on the couch in the heat of a teenage summer, ‘sit up straight!’ All these early habits are underneath what you are suffering with now.
Allow me to help your needs and wants meet each other and shake hands in agreement. Take 1 hour out of your week for nine weeks, and I’ll show you the beginning path to: less pain, restored energy, increased range of motion, skills to decrease anxiety and a more peaceful mental attitude to life. The pain won’t stop just because you don’t want to listen to it, but you need to listen to it.
1 hour x 9 weeks = conducive to your goal.
(If you’re a new student that responds to this blog, I’ll give an extra 5% discount on top of the discount already included in the package!)
Cate McNider has been working with the bodymind and spirit for 29 years. Through every stage of her healing and working with others through different modalities, she now finds the Alexander Technique, most actively helps others address pain and stress. She is giving online classes during this time of 'social distancing'. President of The Listening Body® has spent three decades in the Healing Arts — spanning Massage Therapy, Reiki, Embodied Anatomy, Yoga, Body-Mind Centering®, Contact Improvisation, Deep Memory Process® and more — and has further sensitized her instrument through the process of Alexander Technique. Her AT training represents the culmination of a lifetime of work and study and a springboard for future creations. Cate is also a painter and published. www.catemcnider.com and www.bodymind.training.