Backward Aging 3.1 – Trigger Points

I mentioned trigger points in my last letter. Read more about the benefits of discovering and releasing them in your own body: Just click here!

Now, let me tell you about my own experience with trigger points. I have been running since my fifties. That’s when I saw people my age starting to fall apart: Heart attacks, strokes, diabetes, cancers and more. So, I decided to do something about my own health. I started running the Paris marathon. Since then I have been running the distance of two marathons a month. Running is one of the best ways to grow lean muscles; nourish and bring oxygen to the cells; get rid of toxins and useless fat, and make your immune system grow stronger.

I like and admire medical doctors, but I tend to look at them as a last resort. I use my doctor’s services like I use my auto body mechanic’s. The mechanic usually can fix bumps after the accident. But, what about avoiding accidents in the first place? I decided to focus on prevention and did a lot of research on all aspects of health and well being. Specifically, I looked at improving my immune system.

I am always investigating anything new. Lately, I have tried Bikram yoga – a sort of torture scheme. The game is to do 26 classical asanas, the yoga postures, in an atmosphere of 41 degrees Celsius with a humidity level close to that of a hammam spa. An extreme kind of yoga! Yes, it took me more than 80 years to start yoga, although I was convinced of its benefits years ago. Talk about cultivating excuses to remain in my comfort zone!

The benefits of Bikram yoga is that the environmental conditions make you eliminate tons of toxins by sweating liters, and it allows you to stretch over your usual limits. In fact the next day I could go much further in my yoga postures. The only problem is that at one time in the course, I overdid it with my left knee in an asana I had never practiced before. Idiotic! I knew I had to be careful not to overstretch. Result: I could no longer run. Running became too painful!

A few months later, I discovered the magic of trigger points. Over the course of a few days, I discovered the points where some muscle fibers stayed too contracted and caused excruciating pain when running. Now as a miracle, I can run again!

As you can see in the e-book lots of points are located in the back making them difficult to access and massage. I remembered years ago someone using a tennis ball to fix back pain. At the time, I did not know anything about trigger points. I tried using the tennis ball on a hard surface and stopped because it was too painful. This time I tried in my bed and I could find the points, massage them, and even enjoy discovering all sorts of points that needed massaging to increase my flexibility. Much faster than yoga or any stretching technique. Go try it out!

The strange part is that trigger points are not located at the place that hurts. I’m not sure anyone knows exactly why, but who cares—so long as it works. It does work wonders without any of the side effects of chemical drugs or surgery that possibly reduce the pain, the symptom, but do not remedy the cause.

My understanding is that for some reason, repetitive movements, traumatic events, even emotional stress, can cause some muscle fibers not to relax and stayed blocked. Remember butterflies in the stomach? That’s where muscles have been too contracted. At exactly that point, the energy stops flowing freely. Nourishing blood no longer brings nutrients, oxygen, vitamins, enzymes, water. The lymph system no longer eliminates dead cells and toxins. Only massaging the point will open the gates and make that part of the body recover normal healthy functioning. The sign that you have reached and cured a point is yawning. If you yawn, you’ve found a point and released it. It’s a wonderful feeling!

That’s when other groups of cells say: “Hey, Good job! Now come here to also free us”. I believe cells are smart and have feelings. Aren’t they part of the universe? My holographic view of the world is that genes contain the whole potential of the universe. Why not?

I found a great way to increase the enjoyment of discovering and massaging trigger points in my back: Music! Bach, Chopin, Schumann, anyone, in fact, jazz, pop music, anything. Listening to music while massaging heightens and amplifies the treatment. Small movements of the body in sync with the vibes of the music, a sort of slow healing dance, make it a real pleasure to rediscover your body and find the parts that need help.

For instance, several points are located on the shoulder blade. Positioning the tennis ball at different places where I can make slow movements with the arm following melody and rhythm of the music. It’s also easy to put the ball under the hip bones and to move looking for sensitive or painful points in sync with the music. A great massage! Deep breathing brings long-missing oxygen to the cells when a point is released. Stretching in all directions rejuvenates the body.

Some points are so tense that they are painful at the beginning. After a while massaging them diminishes the pain. Simultaneously some parts of the body recover their flexibility and ease of movement. Fantastic!

It reminds me of the golden rule: any living matter develops and grows if you use it, and atrophies if you don’t. It’s true of muscles, cells, neurons, mind, energy. Energy? Could these blockages of energy be at the core of accelerated aging? The rule applies to any kind of activity. Practice, and you get better at it. Live the right way, and you get better at living a longer, happier, healthier, and more meaningful life. The more I free trigger points, the more energetic I feel!

The other significant discovery for me is that the body has a long, long memory. Pains seem to stay forever if you don’t do anything. That’s why most people accept the fact that they can no longer do a movement like simply lifting the arm high in the air. Eventually, they give up moving that arm altogether. This, of course, atrophies the muscle. A vicious circle at work. The beauty of finding and massaging your trigger points is that it releases muscles that have been traumatized at any time earlier in your life! I can tell you that recovering most of the flexibility you had as a kid is a great feeling!

I made discovering and massaging my trigger points a daily twenty minutes ritual. The body is a constantly evolving structure so massaging regularly is a great way to cure backaches, frozen shoulder, and all sorts of muscular pains. I combine massaging with meditation. Focusing on particular points of the body is a way to control parasite thoughts.

In my next letter, I’ll talk about other lifestyle changes that are worth doing and how to get out of your limiting comfort zone. A most difficult thing to do, as anybody knows!

Stay tuned,

Boris Clair

PS: Discover a new free fascinating personal development experience by clicking here

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