How do you relate to pain ? Do you react with anger or sadness ? Do you tense your body ? Do you feel like a victim ? Do you usually consider pain only in negative terms or see it as a challenge for positive change ?
Pain is essentially a form of communication that your body uses. In its simplest function it operates like a smoke detector giving you a warning as feedback of something that needs your attention. In other ways it may offer you a more subtle messages which tell you a number of different things. It may be saying that there is too much going on right now and you need to back off. It may be saying that something is missing and needs to be added to your life. It may invite you to change the direction or path of your life.
There are different kinds of pain. A sharp quick pain is more likely to be a warning to stop or restrict what you're doing. A dull chronic pain that comes on slowly may invite you to examine in broader terms the ways in which you are eating, exercising, holding and using your body. An aching release experienced during stretching or massage (which many refer to as "it hurts good") may reveal that you are in period of cleansing or healing transformation.
When you hear a baby cry, you know that in someway it needs attention. The baby may be hungry or need to be changed or want to be held. A sensation of pain is similar to a baby's cry. That you may have a reaction of frustration and anger to the baby crying is a natural. Yet, if you respond to a crying baby with frustration and anger, you are unlikely to be able to calm it. A soothing, loving attitude is the response which will communicate through your tone of voice and touch the energy which will support and lull the baby toward calmness or sleep.
In a similar way it is natural to realize anger and fear when you experience pain. The choice comes in how you choose to behave in thought and deed in response to the pain. If you view pain as the enemy then you will likely view the body as the enemy. In an attempt to ignore or deny the pain you will likely ignore or deny the needs of the body. In essence it would be like ignoring that the baby is crying.
You can in choice acknowledge and accept the feelings that arise when you encounter pain, by allowing them to be expressed as feelings (crying etc.). You allow them to flow freely, by avoiding thought behaviors (such as judgment, rationalization, defensiveness, etc.) which restrict your flow of energy. This free flow of energy encourages the your best response to pain.
Better responses to pain can involve the following:
1) Deep breathing which brings relaxation that reduces the harshness and intensity of pain.
2) A loving attitude toward your body which foster greater circulation of blood supply, energy, and nutrients which enhance healing.
3) A spirit of adventure and willingness to learn the lessons that the challenge of pain offer you for your life.