
I'm Wayne C. Allen. In February 0f 2008, Darbella and I were asked to lead a 3-hour seminar on alternatives to drugs for pain management, this for Ontario's Workplace Safety & Insurance Board (WSIB.) At the end of the seminar, we offered to run an all day workshop.Thus began the saga of the last 3 months. We ended up creating a DVD and book, featuring the best of what we teach around here—self-responsible living and being.
Throughout the book and DVD, I contrast Eastern and Western approaches to living, to Bodywork and exercise, and to pain management.
My initial training was in Western psychotherapy, which is often called the “talking cure.” There were body elements to this: we looked at breathing; we did psychodrama (acting out scenarios, in groups) and studied Gestalt, which has many physical aspects.
In my clinical practice, I had years of success with the “talking cure.” What I noticed, however, was that the relief tended to be mental—in other words, people gained communication skills, better understanding of their stories, and tools for talking through emerging issues. What wasn’t happening was any (or much) change on the physical level. People with great mental coping skills were still in physical pain, and things weren’t getting better with time.

I started exploring Eastern philosophies and techniques, to see if I could find something to try. I learned that there was a direct and fundamental connection between what people thought (clung to,) and what was happening in their bodies.
In 1996, I attended a 25-day program at The Haven, near Nanaimo, B.C. There, I learned a Western version of Bodywork. I learned Bodywork theory—that our bodies hold within their physical structure the story of our unresolved issues and past traumas, physical and psychological. A trained Bodywork practitioner can simply look at how you carry yourself and can thereby tell you much of your life story.
So, let’s apply this to you. In the case of injury, you might ask yourself:
On the Eastern side of things, Eastern methods assume that the body is filled with energy. This energy can be directed, and used for healing. You’ll hear us talk a bit about meridians, about energy (called chi or Qi,) and about how energy blockages cause the body to be “out of balance.”
In Eastern thought, our bodies are seen holistically, as BodyMindSpirit. We are designed to naturally be in balance. Internal illnesses and external injuries cause the energy to flow un-naturally, and this in turn leads to pain and inflexibility.
In other words, through specific exercises and meditation, we’ll treat the imbalance, and allow the pain to take care of itself.
We mentioned that there are things you’d need to “get,” and here’s the first one. You will need to see your injury, and the pain that came with it, as part of a longer ‘story’—in a sense, to accept the idea that your body is holding unexpressed emotions and traumas that pre-date the injury, and which pre-disposed you to be injured as you were. This also applies to illnesses and diseases, from stress headaches or ulcers, right up to the biggies—cancer, heart conditions, etc. Things almost always start small, are unnoticed and ‘stuffed,’ and grow larger, until we can ignore them no more.
We call this understanding “the core of self-responsibility.” In other words,
I’m asking you to look to yourself, to identify areas you have been ignoring, and to gently turn your attention to those things. No one but you can turn the tide. You’ll have to break habits and learn to think and act in a new way, but hey, the way you were doing things hasn’t exactly panned out, now has it?
Pain is one reality that touches all of our lives. For all of us, there will be the emotional pain of grief and loss. If we are injured, there must be physical pain. In every life, pain is not optional.
All suffering is self-imposed. The Buddha’s first truth is, “Life is suffering.” But his second truth is, “All suffering is caused by clinging and aversion.”
One root of suffering comes from clinging to the past—wanting everything to be the way it was before the ‘bad’ thing happened. This, of course, will not and cannot ever happen, no matter how much you wish it were so. And so, you suffer.
The other root of suffering comes from imagining the future—and making that future as grim and pain-filled as possible. I won’t get into why we do this—it’s not worth the reading. This imaginary story causes us to physically tighten up, and to dump a load of adrenaline into our systems—and this, in turn, adds to our pain.
In both cases, suffering comes from hating and resisting pain. Yet, the pain is real—is part of our reality.
Most choose hardening and tightening around the pain, while adding in the “This isn’t fair” litany. And so, they suffer.
The Buddha’s third truth: If you let go of clinging and aversion, and live your life fully and completely, you can let go of suffering (but not pain, sickness, and death—this is not optional!)
I am not minimizing pain—I am simply saying that it is ‘how it is.’ There will always be physical pain, and there will always be situations that are agonizing. There will always be depraved people preying on innocents, and tragedy and death are as much a part of life a blue skies and sunsets. Bemoaning the existence of such painful situations changes precisely nothing.
Creating another way of being with the situation is always possible. The key to living life with a minimum of suffering is to hold life, and your opinions, loosely. While it is tempting to play the “It’s not fair” game, it is essential to remember that this accomplishes nothing in the real world.
Building upon the insights contained in my popular book, This Endless Moment, this book and DVD combination provide an excellent opportunity to find peace, presence, contentment, and pain relief-by developing a real meditative lifestyle practice.
You will learn grounded, centered meditation, body movement, (Qi Gong, Supported Yoga, and walking meditation), Body and Breathwork techniques, and Zen-based Mindfulness approaches to living life fully and deeply.
You will learn to look at your life, and your pain, differently. You'll learn to be self-responsible-to take an active part in how you view and live your life. You will find a new sense of freedom, as you accept yourself, as you are-where you are.
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Now, about our guarantee:
As is the policy with all the products we sell, Alternative Pain Management carries an unconditional, 90 day money-back guarantee. If this DVD/book set is not everything that I have said and you are not completely satisfied, you will receive every cent of your money back, no questions asked. Since we have been in business since 1982, you can count on our guarantee.
I've shown you that purchasing Alternative Pain Management is as risk-free as an offer can come. You and I both know that if you've read this far in this letter, you're seriously interested in learning about Bodywork & Breathwork. All that's left to do now is take action.
Alternative Pain Management is available from our Company Store, which is hosted at eSellerate. You can price and pay for the book in your local currency.
Alternative Pain Management is a DVD and book, with a BONUS audio CD of Meditations..
◊cost is $35.00
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I could go on and on with reasons to purchase Alternative Pain Management, but here's the point: you will find yourself firmly planted in your body, with less pain, and at peace!
Do it today!
Warmly,
