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Natural Solutions for Coping with Pain

There are more than 100 million adults in the United States that deal with some sort of pain every single day. More than half of these people feel that they have little or no control over their pain… and countless others have turned to narcotic medication to manage the discomfort on a daily basis.

Some people have been on medication for so long and their tolerance is so high that the medicine does absolutely nothing for their pain.

In all my years of being a health care professional, I’ve seen a lot more people suffer from pain due to various issues than from Diabetes, heart disease and cancer. That’s a lot of pain!

It seems like I’ve been getting a higher than usual number of requests from my clients for herbal pain ointment, so this week I’d like to share some holistic steps you can take to help manage pain in your life.

 

Is Your Pain Chronic or Acute?

businesswoman migraineEssentially, pain is the body’s way of telling the brain that something is not quite right. It may be an indication that we’re out of alignment, there’s something growing in the body that shouldn’t be there or an adjustment is needed. It’s a clue that we need to pay attention to correct something.

There are two types of pain: acute pain and chronic pain.

Acute pain is when you’re walking down the street and you bump your ankle. You’ll think, “Ouch, that hurts!” The sharp pain you feel in that moment in your ankle is acute.

Chronic pain is when you’ve bumped your ankle, it’s painful, but you don’t get it checked by a doctor. Maybe you’ve fractured a bone, but you don’t know because you haven’t seen a professional. Despite the continued pain, you never go to see anyone and you have an ongoing aching sensation in your ankle for months or even years.

After so much time, it’s possible that you’ll forget how you hurt your ankle in the first place. The fracture will likely heal improperly and the body will be out of alignment, which will cause ongoing pain.

In general, any pain that lasts longer than 6 weeks is considered chronic pain.

 

Natural Solutions to Relieve Pain

Finding pain relief is important. When people suffer from ongoing pain, they can’t concentrate as well, their sleep becomes interrupted and their natural energy resources are quickly depleted.

Mindful Meditation. Many of us try to ignore or “work through” pain, but when we pay attention to and acknowledge our pain, it helps shift our consciousness. Mindful meditation reminds us that instead of trying to only solve the pain with an outside solution, we can also work on it from the inside. Studies suggest that the greatest benefit of mindful meditation is an enhanced ability to cope with any physical discomfort that may occur.

Many people experience anger, irritability and moodiness when they suffer from chronic pain. When you begin to practice mindfulness, you’ll find that coping with pain is easier. You will likely also find that irritability, anger and depression are reduced as the body and mind work together more harmoniously.

Self-Care Massage. Take good care of yourself when you’re experiencing pain through massage. Use coconut, almond or sesame oil and start with your feet: rub them lovingly and thank them for supporting you. Next, move on to your ankles, your legs, your knees, and continue until you reach the top of your head. With each new body part, give thanks and show appreciation.

At the end of your meditation, thank the Universe for allowing you to have time to check in with your body and go about your day. You will feel better.

2Are you looking for natural solutions to manage chronic pain? I would love to talk to you about how I can help. Click HERE to set up a complimentary call with me to talk about what you can do today to find relief from your pain.

Wishing you peace to your mind, wellness to your body and tranquility to your spirit.

Namaste,

Rochel Marie Lawson, RN, AHP, CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous and The Wellness Architect

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blissful living, health and wellness, healthy living

Be Mindfully Present in Love

People often think that once we become intimate with another person, it will be peaches ‘n cream, lovey-dovey, last-forever kind of love. We expect that the prince found his princess; they’re going to ride off in the sunset, live a fairytale lifestyle and be happy forever.

But that’s not quite reality. In romantic relationships, intimacy can’t be cooked up all at once; it has to build and grow and there are many actions and habits we can take on a daily basis to demonstrate our tenderness toward the other person.

Take the Other into Consideration

imagesIn partnership, one of the most important things is to take the other person into consideration and pay close attention to detail. Sometimes we believe that we will be happy “if only my partner fulfills my needs…” but in this instance, the act of giving can be just as fulfilling if not more fulfilling than the act of receiving.

Asking questions like, “How will this action affect my partner? If I make this choice, will it affect him or her positively or negatively?” is a great first step to taking the other person into consideration.

Something as simply as making dinner for your loved one can build intimacy and trust between two people. When we bring kindness to anything we’re working on, and especially intimate partnerships, it creates a feeling of closeness, desire and being wanted. It facilitates love.

Complete Communication

Communication is about so much more than words, and body language is vital when it comes to the long-term success of a relationship. Bring mindfulness into your interactions with your partner: how do you feel when you’re speaking to your beloved? Do you make eye contact, or don’t you? Do you talk about how you feel, or do you stick to logistics?

So many of our modern conveniences make quick communication easier, but take away the subtle nuance of our interactions. Simply choosing to pick up the phone when you need to communicate with a loved one – even if it’s just to tell him or her what time you’re meeting for dinner – can make a world of difference.

When you have a phone call with another person, you can physically hear that person’s voice. Unconsciously, you may begin to visualize how that person looked when you last saw them; how they smelled, perhaps how they felt when you touched them.

Now, just by picking up the phone, so many more of your physical senses have become engaged!

Set Aside the Distractions

One of my friends has a wonderful boyfriend. When they’re together, he demands that she not work because he doesn’t want her to do anything but focus her attention completely on him. He does the same for her when they’re together.

At first, this was a challenge for her. She thought, “Well, I have to work! How else can I make money and support myself?”

He pointed out that yes, of course she needed to work, but not when they’ve specifically set aside time to be together. The two of them don’t live together, so when they choose to spend time together, it makes sense that they would focus 100% on the other person to build intimacy and trust.

Now when they spend time together, they choose to prioritize each other. Work gets done during work time, but they both now know that tenderness and intimacy can only blossom when they invest the time and energy into each other.

Take a Moment

Today, take a few minutes to think about how you will honor your partner. Maybe you’ll set aside time to really listen to them and ask about their day, or maybe you’ll look closely at them and notice something that you hadn’t noticed before.

If you’re looking for ways to bring more mindfulness into your romantic relationship, click HERE to access the complimentary Bliss Kit!

Wishing you peace to your mind, wellness to your body and tranquility to your spirit.

Namaste,

Rochel Marie Lawson, RN, AHP, CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous and The Wellness Architect

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blissful living, health and wellness, healthy living

Mindfulness in the Work Place

In the last article, I talked about what it means to be mindful and what tremendous benefit mindfulness can be in your home life (read the article HERE)

When we work, we have one agenda: to do our job, and to do our job well. That can feel like a lot of pressure in our modern world that constantly demands everything be faster, smarter and cheaper.

How can you keep your sanity (and inner peacefulness) as you navigate through these challenges?

Is the Success Worth the Sacrifice?

WF_20120906_NEWS02_120909979Work is stressful, there’s no doubt about it. No matter what job you hold, there’s always the pressure to do well and earn your keep. We always want to achieve results and reap the rewards but sometimes the effort required of us can feel so overwhelming that we find ourselves in a constant state of stress.

Many times workers will sacrifice their emotional and physical well-being in an effort to achieve what we perceive to be success in the work place. It isn’t until something happens – sickness, lack of sleep, traumatic emotional event, excessive conflict between co-workers – that we begin to realize it’s time to take a different approach.

Recognize the Challenge and Approach it Mindfully

If you’re feeling stressed at work and experiencing conflict with your coworkers, it’s important to first recognize the challenge you’re facing. Most often, there will be a difference of opinion or ideals, but that difference can be resolved if both people are willing to acknowledge the value of the other’s input and contribution.

When you encounter obstacles like this, notice how you’re feeling inside. Take a few minutes to listen to yourself unconditionally… and then offer the same act of kindness to the other person. Listen to him or her as you would wish someone to listen to you in a conflict, and allow that person to express their aspirations, concerns or worries that are coming up.

Reframe the Problem

It’s always good to reframe the problem in order to constructively create a solution. Negative emotions can sometimes transform simple problems into threats, challenges and major ordeals when they don’t really have to be that big of an issue.

Invite others to creatively reshape their challenges and redefine their goals in collaboration with you. Look at the situation objectively: is this road block actually a road block?

Here’s an example of what this looks like in action:

Not too long ago, one of my friends gave a presentation at work. It was well received, and the company decided to integrate his suggestions. However, although they used his ideas, they didn’t give him any credit, promotion or acknowledgement for his contribution. At this point, it would have been easy for him to turn the situation into a big problem, but instead, he reframed the situation by telling himself, “I didn’t get recognized for the wonderful job I did… but deep down inside, I know I did the best I could and I was successful at achieving my goal of making a positive impact on the company.”

Now, he has a constructive belief built around the experience instead of bringing himself and others down with negative thoughts and talk.

It always takes an effort to be mindful in our lives, but you also always have a choice. Choose to stand in your power as a positive, mindful employee and you’ll see big changes in the way others interact with you in the workplace!

What practices do you implement to stay mindful at work? Leave a comment below to add your two cents!

Wishing you peace to your mind, wellness to your body and tranquility to your spirit.

Namaste,

Rochel Marie Lawson, RN, AHP, CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous and The Wellness Architect

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blissful living, health and wellness, healthy eating

Mindfulness at Home

When I come home in the evening, I typically say hi to everyone, look around the house and see a lot that hasn’t been done. I start mindlessly sweeping the floor, dusting or cleaning the bathroom…

A few hours later I’ve got a sparkling house but haven’t interacted with anyone in my home.

Do you feel bombarded on a daily basis by busy work? If left unchecked, these distractions can disconnect us from our primary relationships. I want to share some insights with you about how to bring attention and mindfulness into your key relationships.

Use Dinnertime to Connect

In our busy society, many people don’t sit down with the family to talk about what happened during the day, the problems and issues that arose or how they may be feeling. Dinnertime is fragmented in many households because the kids may have already eaten or the husband comes home late.

My family saw me at home but somehow I wasn’t part of their lives. I asked myself how I could change that. I’m so used to believing that I’m being mindful, but I was surprised to realize that I was actually operating from the other end of the spectrum!

We have to choose over and over again to be fully present with our families, whether the encounter is casual or lengthy. Dinner is a great time to increase engagement because sitting around the dinner table really invites connection. Meals have been important throughout history as a primary way family, friends and associates interact and bond. When you make mealtime a mindful experience for your intimate circle, you’re able to deepen your relationships even further.

Create Connection Rituals

Experiment with assigning different family members little tasks like setting the table, Unknownlighting candles or making a salad dressing. Say a little prayer or give thanks before you eat. This will prepare the body to receive the food. To keep interruptions at bay, make unplugging from phones and smart devices a house rule.

When you’re trying to form a new habit, consistency is important. Decide on a start time for dinner and commit to it, no matter what. You may have to shift by a few minutes when you take into account that schedules can go awry, but make the effort to maintain this as a sacred time. Don’t let the commitment fade into oblivion. Once you start neglecting it, it’s easier to ditch family dinner the next time. Then you lose that mindful connection at home.

Mindful Listening

As each person around the table speaks, the others can consciously engage with their food. While someone has the floor, don’t interrupt but be mindfully present to what that person is saying and simultaneously engaged in the process of eating your meal. This will help the body fully absorb the food’s nutrients.

Regardless of whether the person speaking needs to be vulnerable or not, there’s a way to engage with those you love. Attentiveness and a lack of interruptions bring mindfulness to the group effort.

What ritual can you create to get your family on board to experience a mindful dinnertime? Let me know in the comments!

Wishing you peace to your mind, wellness to your body and tranquility to your spirit.

Namaste,

Rochel Marie Lawson, RN, AHP, CMS

The Queen of Feeling Fabulous and The Wellness Architect

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