11/04/2025
There’s a theory that to heal pain you need to think of it like the layers of an onion. It represents the many reasons why chronic pain exists. When you examine the onion and peel back the layers, you can treat all the reason for your pain.
The pain experience is not as nice and tidy as the layers of an onion, but it’s a nice visualization. You could be stuck at any layer, not really sure how to break free. But when you dive a little deeper to explore more reasons, you peel away some pain.
That’s what coaching helps you with.
I’ve adapted this process into my treatment approach using yoga concepts but it fits nicely with the onion layer approach.
Layer 1: Pain is felt in the body.
Layer 2: You’ve developed many behaviors related to your pain, some that help and some that make the pain worse. Some behaviors you’ve had your whole life, mostly for protection, contribute to your pain now.
Layer 3: The tension you feel around your pain is created by your chronic stress response. Your physiology reacts to persistent stress states by changing how it functions. Immune and neurological systems are 2 major systems that help pain persist.
Layer 4: Stress is triggered by your mental states. Whether they are fixed or fluctuate, pain can go right along with them.
Layer 5: Fear clouds your intuition. You know how to get out of pain (coaching reveals this), but you’re so conditioned to stay in protective mode you need help recognizing signs of safety.
Layer 6: The outer layers block you from your true self…your Spirit.
Healing from pain is working through the layers, connecting to your Spirit, and taking aligned action consistently.
Layers come off
Layers go back on (though not in a real onion;)
Practice expands your ability to create the change you need to be free of suffering. In all honesty, maybe not free of pain. But my clients are satisfied with a renewed sense of freedom that comes with a better understanding of why pain persists.
Make sense of your pain with my free guide. Link in bio.
