— Buddha
We are not even sure if Buddha actually said that but we found it on the Googie and like it. It’s also true. If we don’t take care of the body, we can’t have the strength to deal with the mind.
Chronic pain crushes the body and lays waste to the mind over time.
This is where we explore the exchange between our physical body that we can see, touch and feel, and the rest of our being.
This is the section where we get to apply all kinds of techniques of dealing with relentless discomfort and see what works for YOU.
This is the most obvious and least subtle of the three aspects we use to thrive with pain. The body is where feelings go to be heard when we don’t address them at either of the other two ‘higher’ levels. The body is where the pain from life ends up collecting until we can’t take it and we run for the pills.
It’s also what gets hit with a hammer, twisted in a ball game or falls down a flight of stairs. We get that it’s not ALL in the mind and sometimes you just do things that cause injury. We are NOT saying it’s all in your head.
We are just saying that we are finally able to prove with the latest trends in scientific research what the hippies have been saying for decades—the body follows where the mind goes.
It means that we have a huge resource of information available that we can prove in a lab and use immediately at home.
This section is where we hope to make that way of life possible for everyone!
I was so nervous to have this repair on my botched C5/C6 fusion after 3 years of excruciating and constant pain that I documented the days leading up to and recovering from the operation. My hope is that my experience and process of going through this publicly is that someone else out there will see…
I know it’s not a great way to sell my theory on healing but sometimes healing is more painful than the original injury. No one sells their healing modality, treatment or therapy that way because people currently trend towards weak and lazy and probably wouldn’t pay to try their thing if you tell them up…
For over 20 years I have been a huge fan of regular, weekly sauna. It helps me clear out my allergies, speed cellular detoxification and repair and manage incredible pain without the daily use of opioids. I can’t advocate enough for ways of heating the body gently to help heal and keep my system moving.…
The Juvent micro-impact platform is a cornerstone of my personal home pain-hacking lab. You stand on it for 20 minutes and it gives your skeleton the same amount of exercise as if you walked for 5 hours. Since sitting is the new smoking, this device holds great promise for a number of applications. I use…
This video explains a little bit about my use of the BioMat. This is a vital tool in heating my body and battling chronic sensation that most people call pain. You don’t have to do ANYthing but lay flat to enjoy the benefits of this handy tool. No, I’m not selling them but I believe…
I got home from recording in LA to a stormy sea of harsh news, long to-do lists, mind blowing physical discomfort and a looming surgery and recovery to top it all off. When I say that sometimes I’d prefer to be curled up fetal under the bed on ALL the pills, I’m not kidding. It’s…
I write most of my music by doing endless improvisations in my house. Instead of watching TV, (the pain often makes concentrating to read difficult) I pick up my violin and make music. Due to a major injury and full hand reconstruction surgery years ago, my first finger on my left hand has nothing but…
Oxygen is fundamental to cellular repair. It is used by elite athletes, warriors and rockstars to stay in shape and perform at superior levels day in and day out. The doctor who literally saved my life used the LiveO2 system. I’ve taken 2 years to learn every possible thing about using their system from that…
I experimented with how long I could last on a flight across the country without any opioid medication. I’ve never not taken SOMETHING powerful since my botched neck surgery 3 years ago. In fact, like most people I instinctively doubled or tripled up on my meds IN ANTICIPATION of increased pain. I managed to make…
This is literally what I roll through TSA with when I travel. Every. Place. I. Go. (occasional sigh) Fortunately, I see this as a GET TO, not a got to. I get to travel all over the world with my conditions and major malfunctions and still thrive with stuff that should keep me from going…
I was taught how to do a basic body scan in an 8 week MBSR course designed by John Kabat-Zinn. I use this as the cornerstone of all of my meditation work for my chronic sensation otherwise known as pain. I invite you to close your eyes and try this one with me. Repeat it…
This experiment in going across the country, sleeping in odd places at odd hours and making a record for people in pain to listen to without the use of opioids with a failed neck fusion (3mm of travel between C5/C6), turned out better than expected! I flew with none of my pain pills. Fine—it hurt…
My doctor has me nebulizing Glutathione to keep down the inflammation in my body, clean out my lungs, and detoxify from all the chemicals that have accumulated in my body over the years. I love the stuff. Tastes like rotten eggs but I don’t get sick when I travel and I can keep living a…
I went to LA to make a record and thought I could take a vacation from not eating snacks by eating ‘healthy snacks’ as in organic junk food or fried veggie chips etc…WRONG! I also discovered that having Leaky Gut is a serious condition and I have since this video made huge strides in getting…
Those juice shots from Salud worked so well that I attempted to make a batch of my own when I got home and my chest started to burn. Here’s the recipe: 7 large lemons (preferably organic) 4-5 pieces of Turmeric root (I use fresh root and juice it but I suppose you can also use…
Sometimes the intensity of my discomfort is so unreal that my brain races and I lose my ability to function. That is usually my fault for not paying attention as the discomfort was beginning to mount. When that happens, I throw everything I have and the kitchen sink at it to see if I can…
I try to optimize my morning Yoga with some after yoga breathing. I do this because it helps with my unreal discomfort from a failed fusion and all kinds of chronic inflammatory responses in my body. Here are some very very basic breathing techniques I like to use. I invite you to try them with…
Woke up feeling like crap while I was making my record so my buddy Matt took me to this place called Salud. I used this juice to burn whatever bug I had out of me and stay healthy with a seriously compromised immune system so I could finish my music. Thank you Salud in Long…
My buddy Alex Tarris recommended this machine to me. I bought it and have since been using it to manage all sorts of nasty feelings around my body. I can’t claim anything here or the authorities will have a cow but I use this thing all the time. Check it out here at www.micro-pulse.com. This…
3 scheduled flights, 6 delays, 1 cancellation and 2 lost then found bags later I am once again SITTING which seems to me to be the bane of modern humanity’s existence. Sitting in airports between bouts of joints and bones swelling and shrinking with the extremes of altitude is maybe my least favorite activity. If you…
“OhdearlordbabyJesusMaryandJosephhelpmeorI’llpuke” is not a terribly elegant way of expressing gratitude for the ability to move and breathe and esteem yourself after a year in bed, sick and in blinding discomfort. Sometimes though, it is the most honest one. It’s hard to be honest to that degree when I’m surrounded by incredibly flexible, elegant yoga mommies…
When starting a new blog about thriving with pain (or extreme sensation as I like to call it) it is helpful to remember your laptop when going on the road. Well–I forgot my laptop and both of my mobile devices revolted. All week long. Fortunately I remembered my balls. I’d rather leave the house for…
