As someone who struggles with chronic pain due to my job, I’ve been desperate to find healthy ways to relieve that pain. Here, I’ll be sharing with you five different ways that I’ve discovered can naturally relieve pain. I like to combine deep belly breathing and mediation with each of these techniques. Breath work alone is so effective for physical and emotional pain relief. A simple breathing technique that I like to practice is inhaling for 4 seconds, holding for 2, and exhaling for 8.
1. Spend time in nature.
I know this sounds crazy but trust me, it works. Go out into nature far away from a major city and their telephone lines. Shut off your phone or put it on flight mode, and ground yourself. You can ground yourself by sitting or laying on the earth (naked or clothed) and absorbing the electrons, or energy from the earth.
The first time I discovered this, I hiked with a friend to some hot springs that were nestled in a deep valley with colorful trees scattered around the area. Our phones didn’t work there so we couldn’t use them for the whole day except for when we took a few pictures. We literally laid naked on the earth for 4 hours straight and after that, we went into the natural hot springs for 4 hours. I remember my feet were baldly blistered after I decided to walk barefoot down the hiking trail (I know, smart), but after being in the water for 4 hours, the blisters were gone. I had no tension or tightness left in my muscles and my back, neck, and hip pain was gone. Ever since then, grounding and spending time in nature has been an important part of my routine. Reducing my chronic pain by spending time in nature helps me to function better at work and feel better when I’m working out or doing yoga. Not to mention, it can also reduce anxiety!
2. Stretch!
I cannot stress this enough; stretching is so important! I used to underestimate it but even just spending ten minutes stretching in the morning and ten minutes stretching before bed can change your life! You will notice a difference after you implement this into your routine. I know how hard it is to find time to put something like this into your routine when you already have so many other priorities, but commit for at least a week, and then another week, and then another, and it will stick. Try to reduce Netflix, phone, and social media use. Sometimes we don’t realize that we’ve made those things our priorities and once we cut down on those things, it’s easier to implement healthy habits like stretching.
Below are a few stretches that I like to do every day. I hold each pose for 1-3 minutes but there is no right or wrong amount of time here. Do whatever feels right for you, as long as it is at least 30 seconds so that you can get the full benefit of the stretch.
Upward Dog increases spine flexibility and helps relieve lower back pain and improve posture. You can also go into sphinx pose by lowering your elbows the ground and keeping them beneath your shoulders for a milder stretch.
These will help with your neck/back pain, hip joints, leg muscles, and much more. All of these areas get extremely tight, especially if you have a job where you’re sitting in a chair/at a desk for most most the day. Another great stretch for releasing neck tension (not pictured) is a forward fold. Exhale down and place your forearms behind your calves, grabbing your ankles. If you can’t reach that far, grab your calves, but make sure your stretching. The most crucial part of this pose is to relax your neck completely. Let your head hang and take 5 big inhales/exhales. You will start to feel the neck tension release.
3. Drink alkaline water.
Ever since I started drinking ionized alkaline water, I’ve noticed my chronic pain has improved. So. Much. My muscles are more hydrated and less tight. Did you know that your body is 78% water? That’s why it’s so important that we put clean water into our bodies, our cells need it to function optimally! I drink antioxidant-rich 9.5 alkaline water because it keeps free radical damage and inflammation at bay! If you have any questions about which alkaline water is the best (not all water is created equal!) and what it can do for your health, post a comment below or message me and I would be more than happy to share more information with you.
4. Use CBD and essential oils.
I like to use CBD oil for my pain because it helps me feel relaxed as my tension melts away. Luckily, CBD oil does not make you high. THC is the active ingredient in cannabis that actually gets you high, so that’s why CBD is safe for everyone, pets and children included! I prefer taking CBD oil over ibuprofen when I have migraines, muscle pain, or an injury, because it actually helps to reduce inflammation.
I also like to use essential oils topically for pain relief when I have head aches or injuries. When I used to pole dance back in the day, I was always covered in bruises! I used helichrysum and arnica oil religiously because it helped so much with reducing my pain, inflammation, and bruising. Using peppermint oil topically also helps to cool the skin and reduce mild feelings of pain. Put it on your forehead when you’re hit with a bad migraine and it makes the pain so much more bearable! If you have any questions about what brands I like to use and recommend, leave a comment below or send me a message and I would love to help you out!
Also just a disclaimer, if you have any serious issues that can’t be solved by CBD or other oils alone, please seek professional medical advice!
5. Feel your feelings. Express creativity. Change your mindset.
You probably don’t get how this could possibly connect to relieving pain but hear me out! What you focus on, you give energy to. If you’re constantly focusing on the negative things in life and how much pain you’re in, you’re definitely going to feel that pain and have more negative experiences, because that’s what the universe thinks you want to attract. I used to feel so trapped and anxious about the amount of pain that I experience from my job and it made me a nervous wreck all the time, increasing my pain. But after I started only focusing on the positives of my job, my pain wasn’t nearly as bad anymore. I think about how I get to talk to so many amazing and inspiring women every day when I do their lashes and how we get to network with each other and help each other out. We get to rant to each other and laugh with each other. And there is nothing more therapeutic than applying volume lashes!
I also always make it a goal to express my creativity outside of work when I’m not doing lashes or brows. Painting and intuitive movement during yoga is how I get my creative energy flowing. When I don’t express this creativity within myself, the pain starts to build as the creative energy becomes stagnant. My mood goes down and I start to feel depressed (which increases my physical pain). Just think about it! When was the last time you expressed your creative passion? How did it make you feel after? I challenge you to try it after you read this. You will feel lighter and happier. The more you do it, the more effective it is for pain.
Lastly, when you change your mindset, that motivates you to incorporate other healthy habits into your life, like stretching and working out. After I changed my mindset about my chronic pain, I started doing yoga everyday and that helped me to combat pain and anxiety from my job. Just 30 minutes of working out and/or stretching a day can transform how you feel. We actually have so much to be grateful for every single day. When we take time to recognize those things, we can gradually shift our mindset to have a more positive outlook despite certain circumstances.
Shanna Counts 