Pain
is probably our greatest educator and can be used together with every other
experience
in the quest for higher life, Kahlil Gibran, the Lebonese poet and mystic,
described
pain as "the breaking of the shell which encloses our understanding".
It
must
be understood that the experience of physical, mental and emotional pain leads
to
an expansion of our consciousness if we accept and use it positively.
The
pain of life is removed when we expand and liberate our consciousness.
Actually, it
is not the pain we remove but its ability to hurt us. For in the blissful
experience, pain
and joy fuse so that all experiences of life lead to higher awareness. By
seeking to
create a world devoid of pain we are also removing the possibility of joy, for
they are
interdependent. We can only appreciate joy when we have experienced pain.
They
are two extremes of the same experience.
Pain is something that we
all experience from very early on in life.
Because we have this incredible human nervous system we experience many
nuances and degrees of pain and pleasure.
We tend to like the pleasure and to hate the pain. This opens us to the psychological level of
pain experience. The reality is that we
go through a mixture of painful and pleasurable experiences through the course
of life. You don’t get one without the
other. Yoga encourages us to develop a
stoic attitude towards both pain and pleasure.
The Bhagavad Gita extols the attitude of samatvam, or equanimity in the
face of both painful and pleasurable experiences. Interestingly, in my experience this attitude
of openness and acceptance reduces the impact of pain and enhances the
experience of pleasure.
On the physical level pain
is the result of nerve endings being activated through some stimulus such as a
cut, burn, etc. This information is
conveyed through the spine to the brain where it produces an immediate and
unconscious reaction. Our conscious
awareness catches up a fraction of a second later. In the case of chronic pain the stimulus is
prolonged and seemingly constant. This
can be called the “objective” aspect of pain.
The subjective aspect has to do with our thoughts and emotions related
to the painful stimulus. Our
psychological response to pain is of tremendous importance to our overall level
of suffering. Remember: “Pain is
inevitable but suffering is optional.”
What we think, what we say to ourselves and others about our painful
experiences is of crucial importance.
If I say, “Oh my God this
pain is unbearable! I can’t stand
it! I hate it!” this only reinforces the
power of the painful experience in my consciousness. If I say, “This is a signal that something is
amiss in my body and I must attend to it,” or “This is just an experience as my
body heals.” or something more positive and rational, than my internal
experience of the pain can change dramatically.
For the Yogi pain is simply a reminder to expand her conscious identity
beyond her body and her circumstances.
Meditation helps us to develop a deeper, transpersonal sense of self in
which we can say, “I am not this body.
It is only a temporary vehicle for my consciousness to evolve. Pain does not belong to me but to my body.”
From an “enlightened”
perspective we can see that pleasures, pain and death are parts of an inevitable
“cycle of life.” The true spiritual
aspirant has to be more on guard with pleasure than with pain. Pleasure can suck us in and seduce us into
wanting more while avoiding its alternative.
This is actually the true “gateway” to addiction. On the other hand pain is a reminder to work
on expanding consciousness, developing nonattachment or “witnessing
awareness.” “Counterintuitively” enough,
a true spiritual aspirant does not seek to avoid pain but to use it as a means
of awakening. Meditation practice is
crucial. We need to cultivate our
ability to witness or observe ourselves objectively. We need to be able to “turn subject into
object.”
This
process of nonattachment takes place through the koshas. First we learn to observe and dis-identify with
the body, then emotions, subconscious cognitions, and even with the
intellectual ability for meta-cognition.
Finally we arrive at the anandamaya kosha, the embodiment of pure awareness/bliss. This is the state of the observing self in
and of her/himself. It is our true inner
nature – bliss beyond suffering. It is
our ultimate and most basic being. Yoga
practice - postures, pranayama, meditation, devotion, discrimination – is all
aimed at helping us to connect with this most basic aspect of ourselves. This inner self is beyond suffering of any
kind. As Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “All loss,
all pain, is particular; the universe remains to the heart unhurt. Neither vexations nor calamities abate our
trust. No man ever stated his griefs as lightly as he might. Allow for
exaggeration in the most patient and sorely ridden hack that ever was driven.
For it is only the finite that has wrought and suffered; the infinite lies
stretched in smiling repose.” Our inner
self is connected to its infinite source.
The importance of systematic
relaxation in pain management cannot be overstated. Chronic pain causes muscles to develop
chronic tension. It creates a feedback
loop in which pain creates tension and tension creates further pain. Unless we can learn a technique of conscious
relaxation there is no way of breaking out of this cycle save for addictive and
potentially toxic medications. Yoga
nidra is the most potent relaxation practice that I have come across. Research has shown it to effective in managing
pain and its associated problems: insomnia, depression and over-reliance on
harmful medications (http://www.yogamag.net/archives/1979/ajan79/nidpain.shtml.)
Yoga nidra as well as some
other relaxation techniques has the added value of helping practitioners to
have an actual experience of the power of mind over body. We are not helpless victims of our
physiological responses. Through deep
relaxation and visualization we can experience the reality of our inner being
in a way that transcends theory or ideology.
We can experience our infinite self lying in smiling repose.
Yoga nidra is a guided
practice of deep relaxation with inner awareness. It begins with a systematic rotation of
awareness throughout the body. This is followed by focusing on “the pairs of
opposites,” heaviness/lightness, hot/cold, pain/pleasure. This is a powerful means of developing a
nonattached, witnessing attitude to experiences. The next stage involves visualization which
can take many forms. Places in nature,
spiritual or archetypal symbols work well.
The specifics of the visualization are not as important as developing
the ability to concentrate on the inner experience of the mind. Not only does this redirect attention from
the pain but it also empowers us to create our own experience. The subconscious mind does not distinguish
between and “actual” and a visualized reality.
Thus visualization is a powerful tool for “reprogramming” the mind. Over time it helps us to develop new and more
positive neural pathways through neuroplasticity.
Even more important is the
quality of mindfulness which underlies all meditation practices. This is the ability to observe, or witness
ourselves with nonattachment. It is the
ability to reflect upon our inner experience without judgment or reaction. It takes practice but the incredible sense of
liberation it brings is worth it.
Resources:
The most important resource
on yoga nidra is Swami Satyananda Saraswati’s book Yoga Nidra (http://www.amazon.com/Nidra-Re-print-Swami-Satyananda-Saraswati/dp/8185787123/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1349211043&sr=1-1&keywords=yoga+nidra+by+swami+satyananda+saraswati) It gives step by step instructions for guiding
the practice along with a series of recommended visualizations.
Another recommended article in Yoga Magazine is Yoga Nidra:
A Healing Practice for People Living with Cancer by Julie Friedeberger
(Priyashakti, UK)
(http://www.yogamag.net/archives/2008/dapr08/yn.shtml)
