Dealing With Pain.Right from their first day of training we have to teach students the difference between good and bad pain. Good pain strengthens the body, emotions and mind and bad pain affects them negatively, student and coach need to know the difference between them.

The understanding has to deepen with illness and injury as rehabilitation is essential and needs to be positive.

Today I was fatigued from a seminar on Sunday and had a bad night last night, still recovering from cancer treatment, so training had to be very mindful.

I needed to open and manipulate the core and spine and stimulate the vagus nerve, deepen my breathing and intensify my mind and emotions in a positive direction so I chose a careful wheelchair version of the Tai Chi Yang Chen Fu form, a 20 min form to the Ra Ma Da Sa, Sa Sei So Hung healing chant by Snanum Kaur.

I worked within the range my stiffness and arthritis would allow adding on a tiny ‘easing’ stretch. The movements were smooth, curved and spiralling getting as much softening, connection, opening, closing, compressing, stretching, twisting and releasing the spine and core would allow.

When I felt the pain was moving from positive to negative I stopped and meditated allowing it to subside before picking up where I left off.

This way the the form was mindful, diagnostic and remedial. A positive, healing, therapeutic training session.