Guest Post from The BlissChick
Many of you dear readers will already be familiar with Christine from BlissChick. Christine and I have been reading each other’s blogs for a while now so I asked her if she would guest post for me. Like me, Christine suffers from chronic pain, and here she tells us about her chosen form of movement, dance, the movement that helps her through her pain.
So without further ado, let’s hear from Christine.
How Dance Moves Me from PainChick Back to BlissChick
I have suffered from low back pain and a variety of migrating body pains for so long that I don’t recall their beginnings, and their beginnings are no longer important, nor, really, are their causes. What is important is how I deal with this pain.
I used to bludgeon myself with it. I created all these stories about how this pain was about my laziness or my not-good-enough-ness. I also read every twinge as a sign of my impending death. Pain like this, this mysterious undiagnosable sort, can be crazy-making to say the least.
I started doing yoga 15 years ago, and due to my hyper-flexibility, I was hurting myself more often than helping. New pain became more reason to do less.
Eight years ago, I happened upon Kundalini yoga, which relies less on a splaying of the hips and more on creating a healthy and happy spine. I was on to something important, but I was still allowing cycles of pain to get in the way of a committed, long-term, daily practice. My partner was convinced that I needed more activity to feel better, but I was stuck in the Story of My Pain and not yet ready to do a rewrite.
Then I started dancing again at the age of 40. I state my age, because I think it’s important for people to understand that a) it’s never too late to rediscover and live your passion and b) that your body knows how old it is only because we tell it.
I am 41 now, yes, but my body has never been stronger or more flexible or better balanced, and my dancing as never been more creative.
And I have never felt so good.
I am not pain free. Who the heck is? There are days when my pain can still be quite severe, but my mind and body and heart are stronger than these pains, and my Story is brand new.
My brand new story might not be any truer (in a prove-it kind of way) than my old story, but it enhances my life.
This is the key choice that I think we all need to make in regards to pain, whether that pain be of the physical, emotional, or spiritual variety.
We have to decide to write a story that is enhancing.
Does it enhance your life to sit all day on a heating pad or are you missing out?
There are days when doing yoga or dancing includes some pain for me, but sitting on the couch would be the same, so why would I choose the latter, except out of depression and bad story telling?
My new story is not just about movement; my new story is about the joy of movement. It is crucial that you find movement types that make you GIGGLE. Yes, giggle. I am completely serious about this. We must laugh while we are moving. This tells you that you have chosen well for your body. If the thought of this is difficult for you, think back to when you were a child…what did you love to do? Think of yourself roller skating or swinging on the playground or jumping rope. I would bet it included laughter.
The MORE I move every single day, the MORE hours I put in on the mat or on the dance floor…the better I feel, and no matter how badly I am feeling, once I get going, I can feel it all melting away.
There are physiological reasons for this, and if a cadaver is not disturbing to you, watch this lecture. It’s only a few minutes long, and you’ll think twice before skipping your chosen movement ever again.
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Thank you so much Christine – I totally agree about the giggling. It’s why I still persist in trying to do handstands even though I’m pretty sure it will never happen! 
9 Responses to “Guest Post from The BlissChick”
Great post – and it is so true that we tell ourselves stories that impede what our bodies know.
Yay for yoga, dance, and giggling!!
great guest post! it’s great to discover or rediscover ways that your body loves to move. just keep it moving!
[...] Another way I did it was through dance. I wasn’t the little girl who begged her mom to enroll her in dance class. I never dreamed of being a ballerina. What I did enjoy was the freedom of movement when I felt a bit more restricted in my yoga practice. Putting on music and moving was a nice way to get out of the mindset of “I must move this way.” The lovely Blisschick wrote a guest post on this very topic that’s wonderful and I highly recommend it. Click here to read it on Suburban Yogini’s blog. [...]
What a lovely way to put your story, thanks for sharing.
[...] Another approach I did it was by dance. I wasn’t the small lady who begged her mother to enroll her in dance class. I never dreamed of being a ballerina. What I did suffer was the leisure of transformation when I felt a bit some-more limited in my yoga practice. Putting on song and relocating was a great approach to get out of the mindset of “I contingency move this way.” The poetic Blisschick wrote a guest post on this really subject that’s smashing and I rarely suggest it. Click here to review it on Suburban Yogini’s blog. [...]
[...] recently had a guest post appearing at Suburban Yogini where she talks about how dance, physical movement, has made a difference in her physical and [...]
[...] Another way I did it was through dance. I wasn’t the little girl who begged her mom to enroll her in dance class. I never dreamed of being a ballerina. What I did enjoy was the freedom of movement when I felt a bit more restricted in my yoga practice. Putting on music and moving was a nice way to get out of the mindset of “I must move this way.” The lovely Blisschick wrote a guest post on this very topic that’s wonderful and I highly recommend it. Click here to read it on Suburban Yogini’s blog. [...]
[...] Another way I did it was through dance. I wasn’t the little girl who begged her mom to enroll her in dance class. I never dreamed of being a ballerina. What I did enjoy was the freedom of movement when I felt a bit more restricted in my yoga practice. Putting on music and moving was a nice way to get out of the mindset of “I must move this way.” The lovely Blisschick wrote a guest post on this very topic that’s wonderful and I highly recommend it. Click here to read it on Suburban Yogini’s blog. [...]
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