Spirituality and the Physical Body
September 29th, 2009I was fortunate recently to learn about a book that provides exercises for re-training the muscles to eliminate pain and tension in the body. The name of the book is “Muscular Re-training for Pain-Free Living” by Craig Williamson. Mr Williamson is an occupational therapist who treats patients with persistent pain problems. He uses a method called Somatic Integration.
You can find more information at his web site: www.somaticintegration.com
I highly recommend this book and can personally attest to its effectiveness. You can read some excerpts from the book at amazon.com and you will also see many enthusiastic comments from others who have read this book and experienced benefits by doing the simple exercises.
I have no connection with Mr. Williamson or his company. What I do have is tremendous respect for the work he is doing – and how much it can help anyone with pain and postural misalignment. (and that includes just about everyone on this planet)
Why raise this issue of physical pain and discomfort in a newsletter on spiritual growth?
Because there is a very important link between the health of our physical bodies and our spiritual awareness.
I’ve found that tension is often the enemy of spiritual growth. While it’s true that some pain or even trauma can accelerate spiritual growth, persistent bodily pain will often distract us from our divine essence.
It’s not so easy to focus on gratitude, the beauty of nature or God when your neck and your back are aching. When persistent pain is present, the mind focuses on the pain a good deal of the time – whether you realize it or not.
Your mind then goes to work trying to find ways to alleviate the pain. You may use mental methods or you may get treatment by health professionals. Nothing is wrong with either of these. But they will not cure the underlying problem – they are merely attempts to manage the pain.
To maximize our connection with spirit, we need to have both a relaxed mind AND a relaxed body.
In my own experience, the Biblical verse, “Be still and know that I am God” is most easily felt when mind and body are relaxed. When the mind becomes over-engaged, or the body is in pain, we tend to lose our spiritual connection.
The exercises in Mr. Williamson’s book are very simple and clearly described. If done properly and within your own limits, you should not feel any pain. If you feel pain, you are doing the exercises incorrectly or trying to push yourself beyond the current limits of your body.
Of course, if you have any particular limitations or physical injuries and are concerned about the safety of any exercises in this book, you should consult your doctor before doing any of them.
Here is a description from Mr. Williamson’s web site regarding his method:
“In his clinical practice, Williamson has found that a lack of kinesthetic awareness, or the ability to sense your own body movements accurately, is the most important—and most overlooked—cause of persistent pain. In this book Williamson offers easy-to-follow exercises to increase body awareness, retrain muscle groups, and eliminate pain once and for all.”
This concept of kinesthetic awareness (also called “motor amnesia”) will amaze you when you see how it works within your own body. Your brain has actually become unable to find certain muscles in your body. This can happen, for instance, when you tighten your muscles for many years due to fear and anxiety.
In many of the exercises, Mr. Williamson will ask you to keep certain muscles inactive while moving other muscles – and you may be unable to do it. For instance, he will tell you to keep your back on the ground and make a particular movement – and you will feel that you HAVE to lift your back to do it.
A person who doesn’t hold muscle tension and has reasonably good alignment will be able to do the movement very easily. And so will you after he shows you how to “find” the muscles. It might take you some time to re-learn the movement, but you will feel a distinct difference after you re-activate the muscle and begin to use it properly.
Give yourself the gift of releasing some muscle tension and re-gaining body awareness. Your body will thank you and your spirit will also shine more brightly.
– Jeff Keller
© 2009