When things go wrong in our body it is completely natural to want to know why. Our mind tells us that if we know what is causing the pain we would fix it and move on.

For all of our sakes, I wish it were that easy.

A mechanistic approach seems so sensible. Fix the faulty structure and the problem goes away. I used that approach as a Pilates instructor for many years, especially for those with chronic pain. But the more clients I worked with, the more their bodies revealed the tenuous connection between structure and pain. They often have correlation but not causation.

When I began to train in Integrative Manual Therapy the work was still structural but through a global lens. Whether we looked at acid reflux, TMJ or chronic ankle sprains, we always considered circulation, communication, immunity, drainage, and structure. It was a dynamic system but still left clients identified with their condition, fearful that it might come back.

The real departure came through the study of Craniosacral Therapy. Here I began to articulate the wider dimensions of the healing process; the relational dynamics between the practitioner and client, the use of intention and open ended inquiry, and interacting with the subtle fluid and energetic fields. Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy allowed the system to re-regulate without much of a need for diagnosis. In fact, it becomes difficult to say what is “wrong” with the system in this new way of working. Everything is interrelated and so the notion of a single source of pain is not as relevant as it once was.

When I am facing a client who is in pain, I still look at structure, but I’m also engaged with:

The story of pain. The who, what, where, why, when and how of the entire situation. There is so much to be learned from the connections that arise in the sharing of our experience.

The energetic relationship. When we attune to the health ever-present in our system the conditions creating pain can be influenced, even in the toughest of scenarios. If we separate ourselves from the notion of “curing” we can allow the system to continuously support or improve one’s basic state of health.

Mutual intention. There is much science to back up the power of healing intention. I don’t mean this to suggest that you can think yourself well. Instead, we can, with the help of a skilled practitioner, unburden ourselves of fear and stress, and give space to our unexplored potential.

Systemic responsiveness. If we’ve lost resilience in the face of our pain we can, through improvement of fluid and energetic flow, reset our innate ability to heal.

The Brain/Mind connection. The brain is the place where pain is transmitted—the mind where it’s transcended. When we are able to engage our brain and our minds together we can break the pain cycle and can become more responsive to ourselves.

The inner and outer environment. It is much harder to heal in a toxic emotional or environmental landscape. How you think, feel, and nourish has a major role to play in your capacity to thrive.

What’s fascinating about all of this is that scientists are confirming my observations. I listened to a talk by Dr. Chad Cook, a PT from Duke University who specifically connects the use of manual therapy and movement to the production of Cannabinoids, Dopamine, Serotonin, Endorphins, and Oxytocin. These neurotransmitters are our natural pain relievers, mood elevators, movement coordinators, joy enhancers, and relationship makers. His contention is that we are not realigning bones or lengthening muscles—study after study in humans and animals, reveals this to be incorrect—we are directly supporting brain biochemistry which in turn supports higher consciousness and the nonseparateness of our body and our being.

In the most roundabout way, I’ve laid out a perspective that our body’s structure is not the problem, pain is. Our job as body dwellers is to encourage the release of liberal doses of neurotransmitters and move beyond the mechanistic habit of seeking a problem to solve. Radical, I know…..but without a singular answer possibility arises, even in seemingly impossible situations.

More on that soon.

With folded palms,

Jennifer