Managing Pain Using the Mind-Body Connection

We often think of pain as an indication of physical damage to the body. But, in reality, pain is actually just a warning system of the potential for damage. Pain happens to save us from injury, to keep us alive. Pain encourages a change in behavior to save us from harm or further harm. The pain system only alerts us of what it finds most important for our survival. In this way, the pain system is actually a perceptual process, not a true indication of physical damage.

Although we might not realize it, the brain integrates the information taken in through the body and the mind to orchestrate our experience of pain. Pain then depends on the perception of threat taken in through these many inputs. For many of us, unfortunately, this means we experience pain chronically, and possibly without even a known source.

In this workshop, we will explore how pain happens in the body, and the ways we can alter our experience of it through giving our brain different inputs. Through movement, breath, and mindfulness practices, our brain can be taught that the warning system need not alarm.

Format: Lecture and experiential learning which will involve work with posture and mindfulness

Cost: $35 preregistered, $40 door