We used to think that the more difficult it is for us to move towards a result, the higher the reward should be. The same formula is applied to health: the more tiring the exercise and the more painful the procedure, the faster recovery will come. Where did this idea come from and is it true?
At seminars, I often conduct an experiment – I ask students: “Let’s say I say that you can get rid of back pain and reduce herniated discs in a year. It will be difficult, you will have to work hard, study every day for two hours, endure pain, get tired … How much confidence does this inspire in you – let’s say, on a scale from 1 to 10?
Even the most incredulous admit that they are ready to believe by 5-6 points.
“And if I say that I will have to do 15 minutes a day, the exercises are very simple and pleasant, and in a week the pain will go away, and in two months the reduction of hernias will be visible on an MRI, how much confidence will this give you?”
And then the most gullible begin to doubt: 15 minutes a day? Pleasant activities? And does it help? Do not make me laugh!
This idea is firmly planted in our heads. She came from the distant past, in which, in order to keep warm, one had to go into the forest, cut down a tree, chop wood, kindle the stove – and only after that it became warm.
Our civilization does not stand still: every day there are technologies that make the path to recovery more comfortable and painless. The only thing left to do is to acknowledge it so that outdated beliefs do not interfere with the process.
Pain to taste
The idea of recovery through suffering is not unique to us. For example, acupuncture in Japan and southern China have radically different approaches to pain. In China, it is believed that the patient should be in pain: the procedure is done with thick needles, and the patient literally bounces on the couch. In Japan, on the contrary, they are of the opinion that pain is an indicator of the wrong work of a doctor. The patient should be comfortable, he should not experience discomfort.
Both schools of acupuncture are powerful, effective and in demand. Both there and there doctors achieve excellent results in treatment.
Did you find a massage therapist who proves that results come only through pain? He was taught that way, but this approach is not the only one.
A similar situation with massage: we are used to the fact that massage is painful. However, European massage technologies imply an exclusively painless approach, and if the patient is uncomfortable, he has the right to get up and leave. When traveling, I try to go for a massage in every country, and at a session in France, with my delicate approach to the body, it seemed to me that the touches were too weak, almost imperceptible. But the result was incredible: a feeling of vivacity, tonedness of the body and a stunning aesthetic effect.
Healing technologies are regularly updated, so if you get to a massage therapist who proves that results come only through pain, you should know that he was taught that way, but this approach is not the only one. If you want to spend time on the massage table with pleasure and without pain, look for another specialist.
Pain to the detriment
In some wellness areas, the best therapeutic result is achieved through delicate treatment of the body. For example, now manual therapy (with painful “tricks” and clicks) has been replaced by osteopathy – working with the body through relaxation. Time has shown that microtraumas received in the process of hard manual treatment worsen the state of health over time. With osteopathy, the body is not injured, there is no need to resist treatment, it happens as naturally as possible.
Modern gymnastics aimed at restoring the spine (with hernias, protrusions, scoliosis, osteochondrosis and other diseases) is also based not on power techniques, but on relaxation techniques. 15 minutes of exercise a day allows you to work well-founded miracles: with such gymnastics, work with deep muscles occurs, they relax. By making small but precise movements, you relax imperceptible deep tensions, starting a chain reaction: restoring the tone of all the muscles of the body, relaxing the usual clamps, “awakening” unused muscles.
Relaxation practice
To understand how effective a simple movement can be, let’s do the exercise on the seventh cervical vertebra from the Xinseng (medical qigong) gymnastics, on the basis of which the spinal rehabilitation seminars are built.
The seventh cervical vertebra is the base of the neck. Relaxing this area not only changes posture, but also helps to cope with chronic pain, including headaches. You need to do the exercise with a minimum amplitude, focusing on relaxation as much as possible.
1. Sit straight, back straight, hands on the waist, the top of the head is directed upwards. To feel this aspiration of the top of the head, imagine that there is a loop on it, for which the whole body, like a Christmas tree toy, was hung in space. The shoulders are relaxed, the neck is “long”, free.
2. Start the rotation at the seventh cervical vertebra: make a small rotational movement, keeping the neck straight. The crown continues to strive upward.
3. Focus on the base of the neck and ask the body a question: how can I develop, cultivate the relaxation of this zone with each new rotation?
4. Do rotation with a very small amplitude and speed: the crown describes a circle for 10 counts. With the correct, accurate exercise, the shoulders seem to “flow” down – the shoulder girdle relaxes, the space between the shoulder blades increases, the collarbones “breathe”.
Do this exercise for three minutes: one and a half – rotation in one direction, one and a half – in the other. Note how much the shoulder girdle has relaxed during this time. Performing this exercise after a busy day at work, you can prevent the development of a headache, refresh your head and even improve your vision if it falls in the evening.