“Let the lion eat me!” said a middle aged, well kept lady diagnosed with fibromyalgia. What?!!! Are you kidding me? I said in my head. I am suppose to teach her how to handle life’s curveball NOT throw me one. Shocked and confused, I stood there wondering what is the right response to that would be. “Ummm…” It took a brief moment for me to collect my thoughts but I responded, “Let’s tame the lion instead and reconsider that later.”
Fight or flight response is a phenomenon that our body has instinctively to help us survive. Our primitive ancestors relied on this mechanism to assist them when they ran away from dinosaurs. Our modern day life does not have dinosaurs or safari animals roaming around, but we have hidden stressors that tell our body that we are under threat like having a lion in the room. The stressor can be our boss, rowdy kids, being a caretaker, or being a single mother of three. The constant presence of the “lion” does not allow our body to relax internally and subconsciously.
Stressors in life are good for our body, but too much or without coping strategies will make it tough for our body to multi-task our ability to function. Studies have shown that our body and mind are not designed to multi-task even though we might think we can do it day in and day out. It will catch up to us eventually.
Our body has different systems to have vitality – muscle/joint, digestion, heart, lungs, skin, immune, and nervous system. The highest priority systems will be the ones that keeps us alive which are the heart and lung systems. Everything after this is fair game. If we are fleeing away from a lion, our body does not care to process our lunch or keep us from getting sick. Our “Spidey sense” will kick in to help us not to trip during our moment of fleeing, hence our body feels every little ache and pain during high times of stress. It is on hyper alert. This is why when we are in pain for some time and not changing our stressors, the result is poor digestion and susceptibility to getting sick. We easily forget things and become moody.
“But, I have to take care of my aging parents, not leave my job or work two jobs to make ends meet.” What can we do if we have to co-habitat with a lion? The answer is help our body multi-task using modern science. If we are prone to getting sick, get some vitamin C and stay hydrated. Get more sunlight and vitamin D (with vitamin K to have better absorption). Help your body recover with a good 8 hours of sleep. If we have poor digestion, help your gut by eating slower, taking fiber supplements and choosing better food options. You know…whole organic based meals without processed sugars including foods to boost our spleen. Read the post “Welcome To The Ballgame, Mr Spleen!” and “How To Train Your Spleen Into A Yogi! (Part 1)”. Proper use of essential oils can also help boost our emotions and calm our nervous system.
There are many other options, but the take home message is pain is low on the totem pole in regards to surviving. This is why it is important to spend 5 minutes to supplement our body and make better choices, like siting less. Our body has a fighting chance against the lion if we are in control of our mind and body. If we support our body with 10-15 minutes of light stretches and meditation, our body will have time to process the pain. We are in more control of our pain than we think, unless you prefer to let the lion eat you. How do you want to handle the lion in your life?
Please share this story with anyone who needs to be uplifted from chronic pain. ☝️❤️ (One Love)!
photo credit: http://gravellyart.com/pages/LionTamer.htm