what is beneath the physical pain
How to listen to what your body is saying + a mindfulness practice
Most pain doesn’t need another stretch. It needs your attention.
If you’ve been living in a body that keeps “acting up,” you’ve probably been given the same checklist a hundred times:
Stretch the tight thing.
Strengthen the weak thing.
Sure they can help, but after nearly 10 years of moving beyond my own chronic pain, and working with people navigating injuries, flare-ups, and “random” aches, here’s what I’ve learned:
Pain is rarely just a mechanical problem. It’s a protective signal. And that protection isn’t only physical. It can be psychological and emotional, too.
I started this work believing the standard story: if I could figure out what was tight and what was weak, we were good to go. That is what I was trained to look for. It is also the lens most of us inherit from modern fitness and rehab culture.
These days, whether a client comes to me with a sudden new pain or they’re just beginning our work together, we start with a body pain check-in.
This check-in helps you shift from:
Fixing → to listening
Forcing change → to creating the conditions for change
Fighting the sensation → to building a relationship with it
After this practice, the pain usually softens and the body’s insight is often surprisingly practical.
What your body has been trying to tell you?
Here are a few pieces of body wisdom that have come through for clients:
Shoulder pain: A client kept getting shoulder flare-ups. When they asked the body what was going on, what came through was: I’m bored with work, and we need to change it.
Severe neck tension: Another client’s neck was constantly on guard. When they stayed with the sensation long enough, they realized they were shutting down their voice in daily life, swallowing needs, and constantly censoring themselves. They needed to speak up.
Deltoid pain: Another client’s shoulder (deltoid) pain delivered a clear message: slow down. Stop pushing so hard.
Knee pain: Knee pain: A client developed knee issues out of nowhere. When they checked in, what surfaced was fear of all the changes happening in their life, even the positive ones.
Upper back pain: Another client’s upper back pain said: to build the life they wanted, they would need to loosen the negative loyalty to their family of origin. The body was bracing around the cost of letting go and not being the good little girl anymore.
I’m sharing these not to claim that every pain has a neat metaphor, or that you can “think your way” out of symptoms.
If anything, you need to listen and get comfortable sensing what’s here.
When we include the nervous system, the psyche, and the life context, the work stops being a tug-of-war with the body.
Try it: the body pain check-in
I recorded my signature mindfulness practice, the one I guide my clients through when pain is in the room, for you. And please remember: the goal is not to become a person who never feels pain. It’s to become a person who can meet pain without panic.
Watch it here:
👁️ What has your body been trying to tell you?
The way we hold ourselves matters. Not just because of how it looks. But because it shapes how we live, how we relate, and what we’re capable of imagining. Let your body speak. Let it interrupt the collective war and offer you a new way of being entirely.
Start Your Unconditioning Path ↓
A 16-week journey that combines nervous system regulation, breathwork, and posture-focused strength training to address the root cause of your pain, not just symptoms.
What’s next?
Monthly Unconditioning Practice
Mar 30th. Monday. 5 pm GMT
This session helps you reconnect with your body's innate wisdom, move beyond what keeps you stuck, and rediscover who you are beneath the conditioning.
You'll follow the rhythm within and the pulse of the music to guide yourself back to the wild Self.
Each month, we gather for:
Nonlinear movement with music to shake off tension and emotional residue
Guided reflection to integrate what the month brought
Intentional planning to meet the next cycle grounded and resourced
Show up exactly as you are. Leave feeling more alive, grounded, and free.
What to bring:
Comfortable clothes
Plenty of space to move around
A pen and paper
Thank you for joining me on the path of unconditioning,
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Hedi Shah
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👁️ Mindfulness Teacher & Bodyworker
🐉 Nervous system regulation, breathwork, and posture-focused strength training to target the cause of what keeps you stuck and in pain, not just symptoms.
📲 Website | Youtube | LinkedIn | Insight Timer
Thanks for this! I'm going to try the meditation this week on my knee :)