Today I am going to share how Yoga serves in the process of transmuting pain into pleasure.
- Have you ever experienced any type of pain (emotional or physical) following a Yoga class?
- Do you notice discomfort somewhere in your body or mind that was not present before Yoga?
- Is there tension present in your neck, shoulders, or hips after doing Yoga?
- If you answered yes to any of the questions above, you have most likely experienced this process of transmutation in your Yoga Practice.
Movement of the body and mind in the yoga practice, has the potential to transmute emotional, sprititual and physical energy that has become stagnant and bring you closer to your Divine nature.
Toxin Exposure
Upon completion of a professional massage, you may recall the therapist saying, “Drink lots of water today, because toxins in the tissues have been released during the massage. Consuming more water will flush them through your body.”
A massage is a great example of the process of transmuting pain into pleasure.
“Toxins in the tissues? Oh my.” I thought to myself after leaving the appointment.
Unfortunately yes. We are exposed to numerous toxins every day. They are present in our water, food, air, hygiene products.
Even our comfy couch has chemicals from the fire retardant sprays and other “protective” coatings applied to the fabrics.
Exposure can be a great cause for concern for some people and is a non-issue for others.
Unless you live in a sterile bubble, the fact is, we are exposed to many, many toxins daily.
Now, this is not to say you must go live in a cave and never come into contact with anything in the world around you. Of course, that is quite impractical.
In today’s age, however, we must remain vigilantly conscious of what we are allowing to enter our bodies. Along with applying detoxifying practices into daily life such as exercise and adequate hydration.
Personal Story of Exposure
I’d love to share an example of toxic exposure from my personal story.
For 10 years, I worked as a hairstylist. In the salon, there were 10 stations. On any given day, the 10 stations would have fully booked appointments and all the stylists would be using numerous styling products per client.
I’m talking hairsprays, heat protectants, oils, texture sprays, and dry shampoo powder. Worst of all, fumes from a Brazilian Blowout smoothing treatment. A service unknowingly to us at the time was releasing tiny amounts of formaldehyde gases into the air, yikes.
A few hours into working every day, I noticed my nose would get runny, my right eye would be watering chronically and I began sneezing a lot. Wondering what pollen-causing plant was activating my allergies today, I would shrug it off.
Until one day, I woke up with no allergies, no runny nose, and no sneezing. I went to work at the salon in the afternoon and as soon as I got there, immediately noticing all the symptoms coming up. “OF COURSE!” I thought to myself, “It’s all the chemicals from the sprays we are constantly using that are causing this reaction.”
In this particular instance, it was not as simple as leaving the environment where I was exposed to toxins since it was my place of work!
Escaping Exposure
I was certain in that moment I needed to start looking for other options. Thus I began my journey to find a way out of this small space filled with constant aerosol products.
It took a bit of time to get going before I eventually was able to leave the salon and support myself by making house calls. Other stylists I know went on to rent out their own salon suite.
It is virtually impossible to eradicate the exposure to toxins, however, there are many proactive ways you can drastically reduce it.
For me, that looked like leaving the salon, completely abandoning the Brazilian Blowout service (which was a HUGE money maker by the way), and moving into house calls for haircuts.
Now, how does this relate to yoga you might ask.
Yoga as a Purification Process
Let’s bring it all back around, to the cosmic circle that is Yoga.
Yoga, exercise, clean eating, adequate hydration, meditation, and being immersed in Mother Nature are essential in transmuting and transforming stale energy.
Stagnant energy blocks your connection to your most Divine Self.
Eliminating internal and external toxins, you open yourself up to be filled with positive, life-giving energy.
As you connect deeper to your Divine Nature, you are able to see more clearly and perceive the world around you in a more harmonious way.
We will always face adversity. Among endless seas, yoga serves as the anchor to return home to Truth.
Practice.
It is called a practice for a reason. Yoga is not a destination nor a completed task, it is an ongoing adventure, blazing a new path through layers of old beliefs and habits that you have outgrown.
Shedding the old to make room for the new. There is inspired information that you will begin to receive when you open the line of communications back in tune with your Divinity.
We will all come to our mat carrying something different. Each one of us has unique burdens and circumstances on this earth.
Yoga says, “Come, lay down your burdens. Surrender. Release them to your mat and you shall become more open to the experience of radical replenishment in the presence of your Truth.”
Hidden Trauma Revealed
Often, When we connect to these deeper places within us, we can activate hidden/repressed traumas (pain) to the surface.
Like the massage brought toxins to the skin’s surface, similarly, yoga may do the same.
Of course, there are a certain amount of physical toxins that are released in your body through sweat and breath, however, Yoga also releases emotional toxins that have been stored in the tissue.
As my teacher Dolly says. “The issues are in the tissues.”
Most often, stress is the root cause of discomfort and dis-ease.
Yoga is a beautiful and sometimes even painful process to go through in order to release old physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional energy.
Though you should never “feel pain” while practicing yoga, and immediately halt your movement if you do experience it. Remember, pain is sometimes already present due to a previous injury or built-up tension in the body.
**While working an 8-hour shift standing on concrete floors, I experience pain in my heels, neck, shoulders, and one particular place in my back.**
This *pain* was already present in my body upon coming to Yoga.
However, if there is NO pain, and you move into a pose, and feel a sharp pain, pinching, or compressing, immediately back out.
Creating Your Unique Experience
Remember,
YOU know your body best, and YOU are in the driver’s seat of your moving meditation.
Never allow a teacher or co-student to intimidate or peer pressure you in any way to perform a posture that is not right or ready for you.
“If you wanna stay in restorative child pose during an entire vinyasa class, “DO YOU BOO!”
*Note* The proper use of props drastically reduces the chance of over-doing it and simultaneously promotes correct form.
The unfortunate circumstance that occurs when you push yourself over an edge, can lead to negative by-products resulting from over-extending.
Trying to force your way into a split is a sure-fire way of pulling a hamstring and delaying your “desired” progress even more.
Become patient and remain humbly open to the process of practice in its entirety.
Meditation In Motion
When you surrender the desire to a specific outcome, you create space for great things to enter in.
What I am referring to in this discussion as the process of transmuting pain into pleasure may be compared to growing pains.
As you experience the growth and development of your strength, courage and confidence, a release of old energy that does not serve you occurs.
Therefore, never again crawling over, hiding in fear of the unknown.
Now, we stand strong to face adversity head-on with courage and clarity.
The practice of Yoga as moving meditation, connection to breath, and sacred stillness can have profound positive effects as we begin to shed the layers of self that no longer serve you.
Flowing in your Yoga & Meditation practice is the beginning steps to transmuting pain into pleasure.
Congratulations!!
You are now on your way to continue the process of transmuting your energy from pain to pleasure and therefore replenishing your spirit.
A lifestyle of creating habits that will lead you closer to your Divine Cosmic Connection.
I would love to hear how Energy Transmutation may have shown up for you in your journey.
Feel free to leave a comment below and share!
THANK YOU for all that you are.
May your day continue to be bright and beautiful <3
Namaste,
Taylor