In the past few months I’ve featured several articles about new discoveries by university level research on the positive effects of bodywork,  new development in the world of academia. In July’s issue, I report a study that found certain collagen fibers in the human body possess the tensile strength of banded steel.

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Prior to that, the May issue features a charming rat yoga study showing a 14% reduction in inflammation among rats who were enabled to stretch twice daily—an improvement of one percent/day!

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I’ve been thinking a lot about stretching, as I’m coaching a friend long distance in retrieving her body’s best alignment. Why do people who value their fitness and work out religiously so often neglect what I feel is the most important leg of the triad of aerobics, resistance (weights) and stretching? (I feel it’s most important because you can’t do either of the others if you can’t move).

The reason stretching is so distasteful to so many is the obvious: IT HURTS!

One concept that has helped me is the idea of swimming in the pain, a technique first promulgated, to my knowledge, by Ina Mae Gaskin in her Spiritual Midwifery books. Though the idea came in for childbirth and my time was about 20 years prior to hearing of it, I’ve found it useful for any kind of pain.

It goes like this: Instead of panicing and trying to evade the painful sensations, you imagine a tiny version of you diving into the center of them. This produces a marked shift of experience. It takes away the painful sting. You still feel something, but it becomes an intense energy. This is because what makes pain hurt is the message that “something is wrong and you can’t do anything about it.”. By swimming within it, you transform the sensations into energy moving, mostly healing energy.

I have used this technique for everything from menstrual discomfort to a complete facial burn. In the case of the burn, it felt like thousands of geometrically, directed ants crawling beneath my skin, trying to release the excess heat that had been trapped there. By applying raw aloe daily and allowing myself time to relax and heal, while letting the “ants” do their job, I was able to teach a massage class a week later, with only crusted iips, vanished eyebrows and hair back to my ears to show for it. My skin was intact.

The idea of swimming in the pain came to me one morning as I was stretching a hip that was torn as a 3-month infant and has been impacted ever since. The swimming in the pain made it something I could sit with longer.

Later that week, a client came in who advanced the concept for me further. S is a prosperous young man, very physically fit, with a wife who is also fit and 3 children under age 5. Recently the couple moved from Oakdale/Turlock to a small town outside Nashville, TN, in search of a better environment for their family.

Recognizing the need to incorporate stretching into his regimen, he took it seriously enough to study a class in it. His stretching now lasts as long as the rest of his workout. (More on the in’s and out’s in future issues)

S shares: “I have incorporated about 20 minutes of stretching into my day. I use a foam roller in the beginning of workout and then when I’m done I will do a 10-15 minute stretching session.

It has made a tremendous difference impact on how I feel when I am sitting and walking. Also it has increased my performance in working out.”

When I mentioned swimming in the pain, he responded, “You have to kind of fall in love with it.” I take this on good authority, as I pay attention to physical advice from those who’ve incorporated and succeeded with it in their own bodies. This take swimming in the pain a step further, from mere acceptance and tolerance into enjoying the strong intensity of feeling the good you’re doing yourself.

So, fall in love with the pain of stretching, sit with it until something gives way, send that part love and watch your results unfold. Be sure to message me through www.gwendalyngilliam.com with your comments!

--January 2, 2024