Pain: Your Friend, or a Painfully Honest Messenger?

Pain. It’s a word that often carries a shadow of fear or frustration, especially in our yoga practice. Yet, pain is not just an adversary—it can also be a guide, a teacher, and yes, even a friend.

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It’s worth asking: How do we approach pain on the mat? Can yoga help us relieve it, or even prevent it? And perhaps the boldest question of all, can we truly befriend it?

When we experience pain, it’s not simply an inconvenience; it’s your body speaking in the clearest way it knows how. Pain might be whispering, “Something’s out of alignment here.” It might be flagging damage, pointing to tension patterns that are quietly building, or perhaps—on a more positive note—it’s signalling that growth and structural change are underway. More often than not, though, it’s shouting loud and clear, “Back off!”

Yoga and Pain Relief

Yoga has the incredible potential to soothe pain, but it also requires mindful precision to ensure that pain doesn’t arise in the first place. Delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) or stiffness after practice can be common. These feelings remind us that our body has worked hard, but they also urge us to listen more deeply.

So, what can you do? Here are some practical ways to use yoga as a balm, rather than a trigger, for pain:

Gentleness over Ambition: Release the need to “push through” or “achieve” a pose. Start with an awareness of what feels right for your body.
Alignment Awareness: Stay curious about how you align yourself—not out of rigidity, but to create ease and flow that supports rather than strains.

Listening to the Language of the Body Through Pain

Recovery Wisdom: If soreness sets in, let your practice shift to soothing poses, gentle movement, and restorative breathwork.

Pain as a Messenger

Pain during or after yoga practice can be a wake-up call to recalibrate. It’s a chance to examine how we move, where we hold tension, and how we engage with the shapes we create. Befriending pain doesn’t mean ignoring it; it means pausing, breathing, and asking: What are you trying to tell me?

Stiffness: A Call for Kindness

Experiencing stiffness after yoga is your body’s way of saying it’s adjusting, rebuilding, and integrating. Honour this process with compassionate movement and plenty of rest. Hydration, gentle stretches, and Yin Yoga can be the perfect antidotes.

The Takeaway

In yoga—as in life—pain offers an invitation to listen deeply. By cultivating awareness and curiosity, we can transform our relationship with pain from one of resistance to one of understanding.

This week, I encourage you to lean into this inquiry. Whether you’re working through stiffness or simply reflecting on your body’s unique signals, let pain be a gateway to greater presence, patience, and connection.