Friday, March 14, 2014

3 minutes to pain relief

Maybe you've had a really long and stressful work week and your neck, back, and shoulders are feeling it. Or the constant weather changes are flaring up pre-existing joint and muscle pain. Anyone living with chronic autoimmune conditions such as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia; or old injuries to the neck, back, and spine knows this deep, unrelenting ache. Being the tough guys we are, we push through pain; often with the aid of over the counter and prescription pain meds. But these take a toll too. Stomach bleeding is one side effect of medications such as Aleve and Advil. Liver damage is a very real possibility from Tylenol and has led to a recent FDA crackdown. And of course, we won't even talk about the addictive possibilities of drugs like Percocet, Oxycodone, etc.

No matter the root cause of your pain, ultimately your body is screaming out for a little gentleness and balance. Think of pain and its location as being a physical manifestation of other conflicts in your life (Literally, are things a pain in your neck). Qigong (pronounced chi-gong) can be helpful. If nothing else, it gives you a (likely) much-needed time out from the constant racing of your brain. Never mind the fact that Dr. Oz introduces this clip. The exercises are led by Kung-Fu master Karl Romain are simple and gentle and shockingly effective. 3 minutes. Less time than it takes you to pop open that bottle of aspirin and limp over to get a glass of water. Try it and see.

Qigong exercises to relieve pain

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