Category: Chronic Pain

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A Talk on Chronic Pain and Ways to Manage it

On November 26th, I presented at the Hillsdale Safe at Home Committee’s monthly Coffee Hour. This is text of my talk:

Good morning. Thank you for the introduction. And thank you all for coming. As you know my name is Franny Alexander. I am an RN and Yoga teacher, certified to teach chair yoga, yin yoga,  and “Let Your Yoga Dance.”  I am also qualified to teach restorative yoga and yoga for arthritis. 

I entitled my talk Drink, Sleep, Love – Ways to Mitigate, Soothe, Treat, and Ease Chronic Pain. As we all know, there aren’t any instant fixes and one size does not fit all . Continue reading “A Talk on Chronic Pain and Ways to Manage it”

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DRINK, SLEEP, LOVE – Part 3 of 3

LOVE

Of course there are many meanings of the word love including romantic love where there is a deep feeling of affection toward another. Here I am discussing Love in a different way without what we call attachments or arbitrarily seeking fulfillment in another.

This Love nourishes our spiritual freedom. Blood nourishes the heart, food and water give us energy, and true love flowing nourishes the spirit. This is the love we can learn to cultivate and feel even when things are unpleasant in our lives. To cultivate this love we practice the following 4 characteristics of love known as the Four Sublime States. This is part of a Buddhist practice but of course one does not have to be a Buddhist to practice.  Continue reading “DRINK, SLEEP, LOVE – Part 3 of 3”

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DRINK, SLEEP, LOVE — Part 2 of 3

SLEEP

According to the National Sleep Foundation, most adults need at least 7-9 hours of sleep a night and adults over 65 require 7-8 hours. However, it is important to pay attention to your own needs by observing how you feel on different amounts of sleep.

Are you healthy and productive on 7 hours or do you need 9 hours of sleep to get you into gear? Scientific studies have shown that just a very small group of people require less sleep than mentioned above.

We sleep for many reasons:

  • Enriches our ability to learn, memorize and make logical decisions
  • Improves our psychological health. Dreaming also has benefits
  • Supports our immune system and metabolic systems
  • Fine tunes the balance of insulin and glucose
  • Regulates our appetite and supports intestinal and cardiovascular health
  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Can prevent infection and ward off all kinds of illnesses
  • Can lower cancer risk

Continue reading “DRINK, SLEEP, LOVE — Part 2 of 3”

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DRINK, SLEEP, LOVE – Introduction (Part 1 of 3)

Providing chronic pain support is an important part of my services and education for you.  I will be publishing a comprehensive series that addresses three of the tools that may ease chronic pain:  drinking water, adequate and restful sleep,  and deep love.

    

As we have discussed elsewhere, many of us suffer from chronic pain. For example, arthritis can cause stiffness and pain in the joints. Pain can result from various inflammatory conditions, post surgery, etc. Research tells us that the intensity of the pain can be reduced or modified in various non-pharmaceutical ways.

Pain is modified by taming the unpleasant feelings and thoughts associated with the pain. Some ways to accomplish this include a mindfulness practice, guided relaxation, healthy eating, gentle exercise, massage and yoga to name just a few. Continue reading “DRINK, SLEEP, LOVE – Introduction (Part 1 of 3)”

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