Ilchi Lee, Burning Questions
Why you feel muscle pain and what to do about it..
If you are like most people, you have probably started and stopped dozens of exercise routines. You begin full of enthusiasm, but somehow that initial mindset always fades away. You skip a day here or there, then a week, and soon you have returned to your sedentary lifestyle. Do you lack discipline? Most likely, muscle pain is the culprit.
Even if you have led a relatively inactive life, you have probably experienced muscle pain—a simple session of gardening or housecleaning can leave muscles achy and stiff. If we use muscles we are unaccustomed to using, they may feel sore for many days after the initial exercise; this makes further exercise more difficult and discouraging and erodes our best intentions.
Sources of muscle pain include lactic acid buildup, Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS) and Ki imbalances. Fortunately, practitioners can easily learn several ways to reduce muscle pain and manage it on both physical and energetic levels.
Lactic letdown
The initial pain felt during and immediately after exercise is caused by a build-up of lactic acid in the muscle during repetitive use. It results in a burning sensation in the muscles when holding a posture or when repeating an exercise many times. Fortunately, the body flushes this substance easily out of the body. While this type of muscle pain may be an issue for runners and weight lifters, the stretching exercises of Dahn Yoga actually facilitate the easy removal of lactic acid from the muscles. Gentle massage and sweeping of the muscles can also help eliminate lactic acid build-up. As the muscle becomes leaner, longer and stronger, less lactic acid will build up.
Easing delayed pain
Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness, or DOMS, is a more disruptive form of muscle pain, which feels worse the day after exercise. Depending on the intensity of the initial exercise session, this discomfort may last for up to seven days, peaking on the third or fourth day.
This phenomenon is the result of microscopic tears in the muscle fibers when they are used intensively. The pain and stiffness is actually part of the healing process, as the muscle becomes inflamed. The inflamed muscle fibers then rub on the surrounding nerve endings, causing pain. DOMS most often stops well-intentioned beginners in their tracks.
To manage the pain, there are several things you can do. Keep moving. The tendency for most people is to stop moving to avoid the pain, but the more you move, the less intense the pain will become. Encourage circulation. In order to facilitate healing, the muscles will require increased energy and blood flow to move white blood cells to the site. Light stretching and massage of the afflicted muscles will help encourage this process. Keep the muscles warm. Circulation will slow and movement will be difficult if the muscles become cold and stiff. Use a heating pad to target specific areas of your body, or take a long, hot bath if you feel stiff and sore all over.
Ki notes
A third type of muscle pain, Ki or energetic blockage, can be more persistent. These are the nagging muscle aches that are rooted in the mind-body connection. Essentially, some underlying condition of mind affects the flow of Ki energy, which connects the mind and body. A common example of this are the muscle “knots†that we commonly feel in the back muscles. They occur when the mind becomes “stressed†or anxious about life in general, and this results in tension and reduced energy flow in corresponding muscles. Old memories and emotions can also be held in the muscle tissue, and the corresponding aches and pains may not be fully alleviated until those issues are also resolved.
To help you heal underlying issues of mind-body connection, you should seek the help of instructors at your Dahn Yoga Center . They can guide you to appropriate Dahn training and exercises that will help you regain health on a deeper, energetic level. In the meantime, if you are struggling with persistent muscle pain, this simple breathing exercise will aid energy flow to muscles.
Sit in a comfortable half-lotus posture. Straighten your back and place your hands on your knees, palms facing the ceiling. Breathe in deeply, and imagine bright energy entering through the crown of your head, down your spine and to the affected area. Exhale and imagine dark, stagnant energy leaving the area. Continue 5-10 minutes, focusing on the area of discomfort.
As you are dealing with various forms of muscle pain, it is helpful to remember the popular phrase, “No pain, no gain.†Pain is simply part of the way muscles become more fit.
As your muscles repair themselves, they gain additional muscle fiber, becoming larger and stronger in the process. It is important to remain realistic about your limitations. If you have led a largely sedentary lifestyle, do not expect your muscles to have the endurance of an athlete’s. Instead, introduce new activity slowly, gently increasing its intensity. Pain will still be part of the process, but it will be far more manageable. As you feel the pain, congratulate yourself—and then keep going.
An Ounce of Muscle Soreness Prevention
Use these exercises, which will facilitate blood and energy flow through the muscles, to prevent or alleviate stiffness. Do each exercise at least 50 times or until the muscles feel warm.
Press both palms together in front of your chest, tensing the muscles of the arms and chest, and release quickly. Repeat the exercise rhythmically and quickly.
Link your hands together in front of your chest. Pull the elbows in opposite directions, and quickly release. Repeat the exercise rhythmically and quickly.
Keep your back straight and bend your knees, as though you were sitting down in a chair. Gently bounce up and down until you feel warmth in the thighs.
Stand on tiptoes and bounce the heels up and down until you feel warmth in the calves.
Nicole Dean is a professor of writing and literature at California State University, Fullerton and a Dahn healer at Brea Center, Brea, California, USA .
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September 12, 2007 12:10 pm
Pain Information
October 5, 2007 @ 7:57 pm
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