Navigating Chronic Pain in My Plus Size Body.
Quick announcement before we dive in this week! I’m hosting my third US tour this year and I would love to have you join me on the dance floor. Tickets are available in-person and online for most accessibility and comfort. Check out the details and don’t hesitate to reach out with questions.
In every instance we remember that we are of greater service to the world when we are comfortably resting in the power of our pleasure. - Rashida Webb-Miller, A Return To Pleasure
Chronic pain has been part of my life for some years. Learning how to navigate around the pain, the various treatments, appointments, medication and gentle movement practices has been a journey to say the least. There are often times when I think about not having answers to some of my most pressing medical concerns and just hoping for a day when things started to make some type of sense. Chronic pain and chronic tiredness just go hand in hand. Attempting to shift through the weight of it all can leave you feeling depleted, disconnected and uncertain.
Over eight years ago now I had my first flare of chronic pain. I had so much pain in my back, my body felt like it was seizing up. I could barely walk from my front door to my car. Some days the pain would ease and other days I was down for the count. I felt a lot of emotions, mostly embarrassment and shame because I felt I had done something wrong or not done enough of something to not be in the situation. While there are clearly tactics that I could use to reduce the episodes, I was in the beginning of my journey and didn’t have a lot of answers. I could not blame myself for what I didn’t know but I knew that I didn’t want to keep living like I was.
Honoring my body meant bringing in grace and compassion to the ways that I looked at my body, even on the days when I felt like I should be able to do more or simply wanted to do more. Grace reminded me that better days are ahead and compassion gave me the spaciousness to believe I was worthy of slowing down so my body could come back online.
I think it goes without saying that Black women experience some the highest levels of stress in a local, national and global context. Add any other intersection or responsibility and the stress is likely to compound. So with knowing that as a Black,Plus Size, Queer Femme navigating the world, external stressors are a given. Navigating anti-blackness, navigating size discrimination, fighting back against queer phobia and living in a feminine-spectrum presentation means I must have pathways to remove the impact and weight of oppressive structures. I must have fueling stations. I must have a place to retreat. I must have safety and softness in order to allow my nervous system to recover and replenish. Without these stations, the pain worsens emotionally and physically.
Over the last several years I’ve been curious about how to increase mobility, reduce pain, reduce stress and find soft places to land in my life. Part of that practice has been embracing sensual cardio and low impact cardio to the beat exercises that help me increase my daily movement from 2500-10,000 steps. Reducing pain, improving circulation, reducing stress levels and giving me a sacred space to come back in and love on my body. It’s rather simple to drift away from doing things that feel good in the body when your pain signals are firing really hard. This is not an all or nothing approach, for example, you must reach x number of steps. It’s giving you an opportunity to slowly stretch your capacity for movement, tracking your data day by day and seeing how the body craves more of this place when it’s integrated with gentleness and ease. The last thing a body in pain needs is more pain to remind it that it has pain. You don’t have to fight your body, make the changes that you want to see. Loving ourselves there is the only lasting approach.
Have you been wanting to improve your mobility? Get more active in your day to day life? Find ways of moving that feel easy to access without getting overwhelmed by how many reps? What machines? What exercises? How do you even make the time for integrating a new healing practice? If these questions sound like the ping pong match you’ve been playing in your mind then I want to work with you.
Join me in The Messy Movement Lab for our six week coaching series: From Pain to Power, Gentle Movement for Rejuvenation
You can choose to join the group coaching series or you can join as a private coaching client.
What you’ll walk away with in six weeks
Discover how movement can be a tool for pain relief, not just a source of it.
Gain strategies to increase your range of motion and move with more ease.
Experience a sense of rejuvenation and renewed energy through gentle movement.
Learn how to reconnect with your body in postive and loving way.
Develop a practice that reduces stress and promotes relaxation.
Discover the power of gentle movement to reclaim your body and it’s capacity.
Build confidence in your ability to move with ease and joy.
Learn to listen to your body’s needs and move in a way that feels good.
Increase daily movement. Get to your 10,000 steps a day or more with ease.
Improve circulation and overall wellbeing.
Class Details
Class meets Monday and Wednesdays Online 4:00 PM PST/7:00 PM EST
Each session is 90 minutes in length. (60 Minutes of Movement, 30 Minutes of Discussion)
Recording access to all classes for 90 days.
On-camera participation not required but welcomed.
Students are not recorded during the class for privacy and discretion.
Next steps will be sent to you via email within 24 hours of your purchase. If you have questions please contact us support@themessymovementlab.com——-