Ask a Posture Pro| 5 Steps to STOP Groundhog Day Pain Managment
Here we are a week past Groundhog Day, and I find myself thinking about how connected life and events become (see Deb Preachuk - Your Reputation is Growing)
If you've been reader of thisBLOG, you'll know we love actor/comedian Bill Murray who played the lead role in the 1993 movie of the same title.
Not only is Bill Murray one of my alltime favorite actors, but in addition, I have an extra appreciation for him because he maintains a regular posture alignment therapy menu practice.
Murray is a well known Egoscue fan! He's spoken about it in the media and brings it with him out onto the golf course.
Bill works to keep his body pain free, fully functional and optimized for sports performance as possible in his attempt to once again win the tournament.
So what does all this have to do with the movie Groundhog Day?
Phil Connors (Murray) is an egotistical TV weatherman who grudginly travels to Punxsutawney, PA, to cover the annual Groundhog Day festivities with Punxsutawney Phil.
Connors gives his report then tries to return to Pittsburgh. A blizzard shuts down the roads forcing Phil and his team to return to Punxsutawney and stay in town overnight. (source Wikipedia)
Phil wakes up to find that he is RELIVING February 2. The day plays out exactly as it did before, but no one else is aware of the time loop.
In essence Connors gets "stuck" having to report and repeat Groundhog Day over and over AGAIN and he's far from happy about it!
For him, Groundhog Day was already booooring and a much-hated assignment ... and now he he now finds himself having to relive it, over and over, possibly for the rest of his life.
If you haven't seen it he actually wakes up each morning at 6am, to repeat the EXACT SAME DAY - and hears the radio announcers say 'It's cooooold outside'! What a nightmare!
When it comes to chronic and unresolved musculoskeletal pain, interestingly enough the movie is exactly what some folks experience and do day in and day out.
How many times have you ridden the chronic pain merry-go-round, repeating the same traditional pain managment techniques over and over again with without a successful long term resolution?
Oops! Groundhog Day Moment!
Kind of funny when you think about it. If something isn't working, why keep repeating it over and over? How come we have got to a place where we no longer are able to LISTEN and TRUST our own internal Body Wisdom?
This is the fundamental difference between posture alignment therapy and other traditional approaches to pain management.
We don't manage pain.
We IDENTIFY, ADDRESS and CORRECT the ROOT CAUSE of your pain. Your posture as it related to your "blue-print" design and function.
We listen to you. We STOP Groundhog Day from repetating itself over and over again.
5 Steps to Stop Groundhog Day Pain Management
- Pain is a Signal! We are here to listen to you! Make sure you really ARE practicing accurately. There's no substitute for working one-on-one with a Certified Posture Alignment Specialist.
Mindful of setting up and performing your menu- Observant of yourself (you can't fix what you can't feel or see)
- Tuned-in to the SENSATIONS in your body. Where IS the "active stretch"? What muscles are you engaging that you don't need to be using right now (making fists, fidgeting, wiggeling your feet - check into places you don't normally place your attention)
- Deliberate about where you place your ATTENTION.
Attention and Mindfulness make a HUGE difference to the level of benefits you gain from postural therapy - and the right attention will stop anyone from inadvertently falling into "Groundhog Day" pain management.
We will instruct, observe and give you the visual, auditory and kinesthetic feedback you need to maximize your corrective exercise menu. There's nothing like the security of knowing you are rebuilding your postural foundation and decreasing your risk of further injury by engaging in your menu accurately.
Just like Bill Murray, you'll learn to "finesse" your postural therapy menu with "rich interactions" and "real empathy" (with your mind, body and spirit). Not only do we help you get out of pain, but we help you stop the chonic pain merry-go-round.
By practicing postural therapy you can achieve a pain free life and living and get back out to doing what you like to do! Pilates, Zumba, Patch Fitness, Crossfit, Running, Golfing, you name it, you can do it.
And like Phil Connors, you'll discover a whole new world and never suffer another "Groundhog Day" again!
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At Pain Free Posture MN, we believe in living life to the fullest! Your life should be PAIN FREE - fun, full of energy, and uniquely about you.
If it doesn't feel that way for you, give me a call.
Posture Alignment Therapy can help you resolve your musculoskeletal pain naturally without medication, manipulation or surgery.
If you don't know what to do, don't worry. I can help you get going again. I promise. We're in this together, and I am here to help.