November 18, 2020
In this PEP TALK, we ask,
“Is there a story being revealed by my knee pain?”
Sometimes pain is related to a mental, emotional and physical issue. Researchers call this the biopsychosocial reasons for pain.
Let’s take a look at what we do on our knees:
We pray.
We plead.
We clean the floor.
We crawl.
We show humility and respect down on one knee.
A marriage proposal sometimes happens while on one knee.
We are knighted. The monarch touches a sword on each shoulder while the sir (or dame) is on their knees.
So both good and, not so good things happen while we are on our knees. Almost always when on our knees, we are showing humility. At the end of the day, knees relate to flexibility and pride.
Flexibility makes sense, right? We lose flexibility when we have knee pain. We have to go slower. So we ask ourselves gently,
-
Who am I being inflexible with?
-
Where am I forcing my will on someone else?
-
When do I feel I’m ‘bowing down’ more often than I like?
Hey, now and then compromise is healthy, but if we are always sacrificing our own point of view, that leads to resentment and anger.
On the flip side of those questions:
-
Where could I be more flexible?
-
Where could I make some space to allow someone else to have an opinion?
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How could I politely and firmly stand up for myself?
Have you said or thought this lately:
- I’m knee deep in a mess.
- Jeez, my knees are knocking.
- Wow, this is bringing me to my knees.
Mental and emotional stress sometimes shows up with physical symptoms. In Earl Nightingale’s book, The Strangest Secret, he explains that we become what we think about.
It can be difficult to release thoughts of worry or fear. I promise you, simply by identifying the behavior you’d like to change, you are already well on your way. If you are in a mess or your knees are knocking, what would be the best possible outcome? If a long term issue is bringing you to your knees, how would it look if it all worked out really well?
Would you say this out loud? “The best possible outcome from [that situation] would be____________________________.”
Paint that picture in your head. If worry creeps back in, you now have a go-to picture of how it could look with a positive outcome.
How would it feel when it all works out for the best for each person involved? What is that feeling called? Relief. Peace. Calmness. Joy. Gratitude. Yes. Now you are feeling it!
You release the mental and emotional stress when -even for a minute- you imagine the possibility of a really positive outcome.
On the bright side, often we humbly receive blessings on our knees. Yes, we pray to ask for help but we pray to say thank you for the manifestation of answers too.
All in all, knee pain may just be a lot of basketball or tennis. It could be from an accident a long time ago. But it could be that being more flexible will offer you some much needed relief.
Thanks for considering looking inside for the biopsychosocial reasons for knee pain. I’m so grateful you are willing to join me on the ride!
Namaste my friends.
Jodi
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