Too many musicians are in pain! In this live video, I talk about 3 common myths related to music-related pain and how to start helping yourself out of your discomfort! Read about the 3 Myths below…

MYTH #1: The source of the pain is where I feel it. 

You may have a real injury in your arm or elsewhere, but the SOURCE of that injury is not your arm!

Most music-related injuries are due to overuse and misuse, and are based on a misunderstanding about how your mind-body-self works, which causes you to move in ways that are harmful to your whole system.

Not only does the way you move end up hurting you, but the way you move is dictated by your brain, and how you THINK about moving! Change how you THINK and you will move differently.

Once you realize that every thought affects how you move and therefore how you FEEL, you can learn to free up your muscles and take the pressure off, healing the pain, which will allow your music and creativity to start flowing freely instead of being blocked by tension and reactivity to your discomfort.

MYTH #2: A medical expert can tell me exactly what’s wrong with me.

First of all, PLEASE go to the doctor if you have extreme pain, or pain that lasts longer than a few days. And… PLEASE stop playing IMMEDIATELY and rest if you’re in pain – don’t play through it!

It’s so common for musicians to push themselves to play through pain and discomfort, but that is a sacrifice that is detrimental not only to your body but to the quality of your music! Your music – and your SELF – deserves better care!

Doctors are important, and sometimes drugs or surgery are necessary. But most of the time, those should be a last resort, and there’s a LOT you can do to help yourself before things get to that point.

A doctor is trained to look at your BODY, not your movements and how you are approaching your activity. A doctor is highly unlikely to be able to tell you how your thinking caused you to move in a certain way (maybe over a long period of time) which resulted in the pain or injury you’re experiencing.

Doctors are not trained to understand how the head-neck relationship governs our coordination, and how poor coordination and mis-use of our thinking and movement contributes to things going wrong in the body.

Since they are not mind-body experts, they will not be able to give you the BIG PICTURE of what’s wrong, and they won’t be able to tell you how to change what you’re doing to heal yourself or prevent another injury or pain in the future.

So don’t expect more than a diagnosis about the BODY from your doctor – and you are SO MUCH MORE than your body!

MYTH #3: Exercise will solve my problem.

I’m sorry, but it won’t… because exercises are about moving in a way to strengthen specific body parts, but HOW you are moving matters infinitely more than WHAT you are moving!

Exercise DONE WELL (i.e. done intelligently, with due attention paid to your mind-body coordination and the head-neck area, as taught by an expert Alexander Technique teacher) can sometimes be beneficial, but 99% of the time, exercises are NOT done with the proper care, coordination, and self-awareness necessary for them to be healthy for you.

Doing exercises with excess neck tension can do more harm than good because you will be interfering with the key area within you that governs your overall well-being (namely, the head-neck area), and you will be ADDING NEW TENSION instead of releasing the tension that is likely causing your discomfort in the first place.

So, if you’re going to do exercises, please pay attention to your mind-body attitude first, inform yourself about how to be more at ease when you’re moving, and make sure you are doing the movements as mindfully as possible.

Just a few simple movements done mindfully are WAY more powerful  than a lot of repetitions done mindlessly or with a lack of awareness of the head-neck area.

LEARN MORE about how to help yourself out of pain when you play….

Want to learn more about how the Alexander Technique can help YOU ease out of music-related pain and discomfort?

Don’t wait to take action! Your well-being is INFINITELY more important than your instrument, your music…and even your career!

Find out about The Centered Musician® online masterclasses now:
CLICK HERE to get details! 

ENJOY THIS POST?
PLEASE SHARE YOUR DISCOVERY!
You can help a musician and help support my practice by sharing this post! Thanks! ?

SUBSCRIBE TO MY NEWSLETTER!
Use this link to sign up for my free monthly newsletter with news, tips, and blog updates for musicians:  https://artoffreedom.me/newsletter/