Blog rebalance mind and body

10/26/2025 0 Comments

Your path to holistic and effective pain relief using the mind- body connection.

Lets unpack this, and explore how you can support your body to heal from chronic pain and get your life back. You body is designed to heal itself and this is how you can support this process:

Lets start with a few facts about pain, that might be new to you:

The number of people suffering from chronic pain is massively increasing worldwide. It is already very high in the ranking with other chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, dementia or cancer.
Most people will have pain at some point in their lives, either from an injury, a burn on the hot stove, straining an ankle, a cut in the finger, falling of a bicycle, a bee sting, the list goes on. But this not lasting for long and the pain is gone. This is called acute pain.
Chronic pain is different. It lasts longer. Often for months, even years or decades. This pain can continue after the injury has healed or appear without a clear cause. The pain becomes part of life, even part of peoples identity at some point. Examples of chronic pain conditions are migraines/headaches, back pain, nerve pain ( in the face such as trigeminus pain or in other parts of the body such as sciatica), joint pain (in hips, knees, shoulders or ankles) and neck pain ( often connected to headaches, facial pain, backpain and shoulder pain).
To experience/feel pain your whole body system is involved. It starts with the part you injured ( your finger, your ankle, etc) but then it creates a chain reaction involving your pain receptors, your muscles and tendons, the firing mechanisms of your spinal cord to send this information to your brain, and how your brain constantly processes this, is all part of the integration of the body and brain (including the mind).
Pain is understandable or obvious if there is an injury or damage of a structure ( muscle, joint, nerve, or bone) and that needs to be fixed with surgery, a cast, etc so the body can start the healing process.
But often people experience pain with no obvious/visible reason. But the pain is there and reduces peoples mobility and quality of life. Often they are labelled as " you make this up", which is very unfair as the pain exists! they are not making this up. The brain is experiencing and processing a pain response even if there is no visible cause of it. Often those people are left alone with the approach of " you just have to live with it, it will not go away". STOP! Keep reading and open up to have options for lowering your pain!
Often the approach of the medical system is, to take pain killers ( often all the time) with huge side effects, sleeping pills to help people sleep, ongoing physio therapy to stay mobile. This is what our medical system is about. Fixing the symptoms to support people keep living their life somehow and stay "functional". Often people are stuck with this approach, not given any alternative choices or options. A few life style focused doctors look into this from a more holistic approach. They discuss with their patients options and ideas what they can do themselves to interrupt this vicious cycle of depending on " other" to be comfortable.
Another fact is, that the amount of pain and the unpleasantness that you feel varies day to day, based on how you're feeling, how much stress you have at work or at home, how great or bad your sleep is, what food you put into your body, how much or less you have moved or mobilized your body. If you take a closer look at those, you might notice a pattern of when your pain is worse and when it is not too bad from your perspective. If you then focus on a more holistic approach ( considering nutrition, movement, sleep quality, relaxation, self care, etc) you will be surprised how much this impacts your pain level).
A lot of research has been done to explore alternative approaches to address pain, lower pain and even eliminate pain. The studies have shown a great positive effect on peoples pain levels and therefore improved life quality. Check out these approaches and try them yourself. they are easy, effective and even fun!

Effective, holistic interventions to help your body heal and overcome chronic pain:

Manage and lower your stress level:
Being in pain creates stress and being stressed makes pain worse.
Here a few ideas how to lower your stress level ( also suitable to calm your system to get a good night sleep).

Breathing exercise: Inhale through your nose to the count of 3, hold to the count of 4, exhale to the count of 5 ( do at least 5 cycles)
Take a slow long breath into your nose, then slowly exhale through your mouth ( 5 cycles or more)
spend time in natural light ( sunlight) for at least 15min each day
Take a walk in nature with your phone in your pocket and on silence
reduce screen time before bed to prepare your body and brain for sleep. A hyperactive brain processing endless scrolling on social media or a full on game on the computer just an hour before you go to bed, or even when you are already in bed, needs time to wind down and switch into a relaxed state.
Start a mind-body integration low impact exercise class such as Line dance, Tai Chi, Qui Gong, Yoga ( focus on gentle yoga), etc
Try to meditate (not in cross legged position) in a way that works for you. Examples: Focus and observe your breath for a while, do a "body scan" by moving your focus through the body and checking in with each part, noticing what sensations are present. Starting with the feet, finishing with your face
Practise mindfulness: be in the present moment when you go for a walk and pay attention to different colours, plants, the sounds you hear etc. BE PRESENT.
Practise mindfulness when you eat: Pay attention to the smell of the food, how it looks, the texture in your mouth, the different tastes.....
KEEP IT SIMPLE AND DOABLE for your lifestyle. Start with less and create motivation to do more when you are ready.

If you need help with this, reach out to me and we work through this together within my "stress management coaching" process.

Contact Britta

Understand your pain pattern:

Everyone who experiences chronic pain has good days and bad days. Days where the pain level is at 10 ( level 1-10, 10 being the most intense pain) and other days where the pain is at Level 4. A massive difference in the quality of life on both days. The clue here is to keep track of it. A useful way can be to journal how the pain on each day was. This creates a "tool" list that positively influences the pain, identify triggers that make the pain worse and notice or develop strategies to be in control of the pain levels again, instead of being controlled by the pain.

How to manage and reduce your pain:

Use a notebook (rather than just a piece of paper) that you can leave beside your bed and make entries at the end of each day to summarize your day and create a habit at a time of day when its not busy anymore
Start your entry with the day of week and the date
Write your pain level down, use the scale 1-10 ( the higher the number the worse the pain is, with 10 as high intense pain). This is more detailed than writing " pain was not too bad", or "felt quite good today" or " it hurt like hell today". It is also easier to compare to other days if you use the 1-10 scale. Also write down if you pain level has changed throughout the day ( example: Level 8 when getting out of bed, Level 5 after being up and had a hot shower...)
Write down what you did on the day ( activities, work, household tasks, resting times etc), how you slept at night, what food and drinks you had ( as some foods and drinks can trigger inflammation in the body, which worsens pain level)
Write down how the weather was . Yes that's right! Weather changes can trigger pain, often warmer and dryer weather improves pain level while wind, rain and cold temperatures worsen the pain.
If you journal for at least 2 weeks, check in with your entries if you can notice a pattern, similarities etc. Once you have identified what triggers your pain, you can get into action and reduce the triggers ( if possible) or to manage triggers better
If you have used strategies to relax or lower your pain level, write them down too and write down your experience with it. It is worth to try the same strategy a few more times, even it has not worked the first time. NOTE: Often people "blocking" the positive effect unconsciously because they have been told so many times from doctors and other health professionals, that "they have to live with it" and "This will be for life" or "Nothing you can do about it" , that they actually truly believe it. Because health professionals , especially doctors cant be wrong, right? This doubt of being able to improve can "sabotage" their ability of getting better. Its all happening on an unconscious level, they have no control or access to this manifested doubt.

Summary:
Pain is different and unique for everyone. A "one size fits all" is not helpful. A holistic approach that takes into consideration lifestyle aspects, stress level, nutrition, sleep and movement will provide a wider perspective.
The more you understand that all parts of your live and living in combination can either lower or increase your pain level, the better YOU are able to create changes and become the expert of YOUR pain experience. Because you are the expert of your health and wellbeing, not your doctor, therapist or coach. YOU are the expert what makes you feel better, worse, what triggers you have, what resources you have within you. All you need to do is to start with understanding your pain better, managing it and then healing or minimizing your pain to live the life you enjoy and desire! If you need help, I am here for you. Just get in touch!

If you feel you might have doubts or even fear of getting better, you can reach out and have a chat with me if Hypnotherapy can be an option for you to resolve this unconscious "obstacle" in your mindset. Lets chat and find out!

Hypnotherapy

Final thought:
I believe in the healing abilities of our bodies and minds as they have done it for centuries.
I also respect that everyone needs to find their own way of living, healing and thriving that suits their personal beliefs and circumstances.

I have noticed that in our modern world full of information (overflow), pills for everything, a food industry that constantly manipulates us to buy even more ( unhealthy) processed food, more pressure and demands on each individuum, a life " on the go" etc, our instincts to look after ourselves and make healthy choices decreases.
We become more and more dependent on getting " fixed" by others, rather than listening to our bodies needs. Finding our own way of healing or improving our condition (with the help of health professionals who actually listen and practise a holistic approach) is the answer, from my own experience, to get better and live a healthy happy life.

Wishing you well,
Love Britta

Need help? Contact Britta

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9/8/2025 0 Comments

Stress relief with these 3 simple & quick exercises

A mind like still water, wouldn't that be wonderful?
Calming yourself in a daily situation at work, with family, or while driving, is wishful thinking?
Not anymore!
Here are 3 simple tips how to calm, ground yourself and de-stress:

Tip number 1:
the 3,4,5 breathing technique
breath in through your nose to the count of 3, hold your breath to the count of 4, then slowly exhale to the count of 5
Do at least 5 cycles of this breathing technique and notice how much calmer you feel

Tip number 2:
Ground yourself by bringing your attention into your feet. Feel your feet on the floor, notice the contact points with the floor, ground, grass or sand ( you can practise barefoot as well) and become aware of any sensations in your feet. Notice a difference between the right foot and left foot. Notice if one foot feels more present than the other. Then gently move your feet how it feels good in that moment and come back into the here and now. Practising with your eyes closed will increase the focus inwards.

Tip number 3:
Stand in an upright position, knees slightly bend and start to gently shake your body. Start small and gentle to test how your body is feeling and then you can shake stronger or make the movements bigger if it feels good. Shake your arms, legs, feet, jump if you like, be as silly as you want to with your shaking and enjoy it. Put some music on if you like. Shake the stress and tension out of your body and mind. Visualise that you shake it all off into the environment where it just dissolves. Just do that for 5 min and notice the difference.

All this tips can be used throughout the day or before you go to bed to support a good sleep without worrying or feeling tensed and restless.

Enjoy your new relaxed and calm mind, or get in touch to work with me if you need more guidance and support.
Warm regards from Britta at Rebalance mind and body

Contact Britta

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12/23/2024 0 Comments

How practising somatic exercises integrated in my Yoga practise resolved my neck and shoulder pain.

Do you suffer from pain?
For how long? Have you already given up and told yourself that this will be the state you are in for the rest of your life?

The list of conditions that are connected with pain or chronic pain is long. Almost every 2nd person has either experienced some pain within their lives, or is still suffering from chronic pain.
I am a health practitioner (therapist) and come across people who suffer from pain all the time through my work.
Often those people are energetically drained, sometimes depressed and have lost their quality of life as everything is controlled by the pain.
They gave up, as nothing seems to help longer than just a few days and they seem to have tried everything that doctors, therapists and coaches have to offer.
Most of them have either never tried breathing practise (or tried just one type and it did not work for them) , mindfulness ( because they thought it sounds like a religion or something weird) or movements that focus on awareness rather than the outcome, because we are all conditioned to "reach the goal" "get results" and focus on the outcome rather than the experience.
Clients are often very surprised how much "a little change" can actually help them, when it works on the root cause ( the nervous system), not on the symptoms. It also often makes a difference, if people are supported in trying a variety of exercises, movements, breathing techniques, meditations and give them a choice to select what works best for them.
Treating everyone as a unique person with unique needs, wishes, beliefs and habits is the key in providing successful treatment, coaching or therapy. This is what I do at "rebalance mind & body"

My own pain story and the important detail that I realized:

I would like to share my own " pain journey" here and how a certain type of lessons helped me resolve it. I am not saying this is the cure or approach for everyone, but it is certainly worth trying if you are looking for other ways to address and manage or even resolve your pain.
My pain started when my dad passed away 2 years ago. It triggered a big stress response in me because I was very close to my dad, he was my "lighthouse" in life. I was lucky enough to be with him the last 2 weeks of his life to support him on his last journey. My mum has already passed 30 years ago and my brother is in a permanent care home after a severe brain injury. I live on the other side of the world 26hours flight time away, but I was the only one left in our family to do this , so all the "weight was on my shoulders" to be at his side before he passed, then organising the funeral and all that comes with it.
I noticed the pain in my left shoulder first ("the weight on my shoulders"), then in the arm and shoulder blade area. I could not raise my arm anymore, brush my hair or getting my Bra on without pain. I tried massages, Physiotherapy, Osteopathy which was all great, but it did not help long term. As soon as I was under pressure, felt emotional or had to deal with a stressful issue , the pain was back.
So, I was looking for something else to address my pain.
It felt weird that I could not resolve my pain, because I am Yoga teacher & therapist myself. I am teaching & practise Yoga all the time to keep me mobile. I use massage mats and do relaxation practises but the pain always came back.
That made me wonder and I looked for something that finds the root cause of the tension and I found somatic exercises. This approach was developed from the Feldenkrais method which I learned within my training to become an Occupational therapist. Awareness through movements, gentle slow exercises focussing on the awareness what is actually happening in the body. So, I already knew this approach, but haven't practised it in that way for years. Time to get back into it, to try if it makes a difference to my pain, as I did not want to start pain killers and depend on them by supressing the signals of my body.
But this is just my personal attitude and belief and not a recommendation to everyone. Everyone has to find their own way to address and manage their pain in alignment with their own beliefs and attitude.

The key is to go back to basics:

It was very eye opening for me. I re-learned how muscle memory works, movement patterns in each person develop, how "vulnerable" areas of the body get triggered by stress overload, why it can take decades until we notice pain or discomfort or "wear and tear" will be discovered, and how it all starts.
Now after learning all of those details and more, it made sense why Yoga and the massages and therapies etc could not solve my pain. It was not addressing the root cause of my pain, just fixing the symptoms short term.

I needed to help my muscles to lengthen again, getting out of old patterns how I move and hold my body and find alignment again from the INSIDE, by retraining my nervous system response.
The key with this approach is to slow down, and really FEEL and be AWARE again, listen to the sensations of the body.
It seemed like I have neglected that over the years and got stuck in my own habits and not truly listening what my body was trying to tell me. With developing the the pain , my body basically yelled at me, so I could not ignore it anymore.
It certainly was a big lightbulb moment for me.
It makes totally sense to me, that I am moving in my own restricted patterns. I am also doing my Yoga practise this way, getting out of ned the same way, walk the same way and brush my teeth the same way each day. I realized, I need to retrain my muscle memory as I obviously stored a lot of tension in several areas of my body.
Starting with those somatic exercises help me realize that. The journey of change has begun.

My somatic exercise practise & the amazing outcome:

When I started my practised I noticed tension in areas of my body that I haven't noticed before.
It was not just my shoulder, arm and the shoulder blade area on the left side, it turned out that even the smallest movement of my leg was very hard, that I could not turn my head without feeling discomfort and that I was arching my lower back when I thought I sit and stand in a "neutral" position.
WOW! I did not expect that. I keep doing the practice how it worked for my body. After 5 days of of practising, I noticed the tension started to melt away and movements became easier and more fluid. I also was more aware of the other parts of my body that stored tension.
My awareness was shifting in my daily movements and tasks too.
I was more present and therefore aware of my posture, how I stood when doing the dishes, how I sat on the couch, how I held my toothbrush, how I got in and out of the car etc.
I realized that I could change my postures and movements and try how it feels and what effect it has on my posture and alignment. After 10 days, my pain was gone. I could move my arm properly, no more shoulder pain and my body looked more upright and evened out when I looked in the mirror.
My pain that has been a "pain in the a..." for so long, is gone now.
And all of that in just 10 days. Since then I keep doing my daily practise, feeling better and enjoy it more each time.
It really is my "self care time" each day. It makes sense to me to keep doing it, because each day I develop tension due to what I am doing and just because life has his tasks and challenges.
With these effective & enjoyable exercises, I am able to stay on top if it before I develop new pain, it makes me self sufficient!
For me it is important to be able to help & heal myself, not relying on the already underfunded and overloaded health system, if possible.
When I practise and teach Yoga these days I integrate those exercises into my sessions. I also slow the practise down even more, to help people reconnecting to their own awareness. By getting a sense of what muscles they tense up when, and how gives them more control and they can change and adapt a posture or movement to make it easier on their body.
People experience less pain, less stress, they enjoy moving their body in a caring and supportive way and most of them find it very "refreshing" and beneficial not to focus on the outcome or goals.
The goal here is to FEEL and be AWARE, re- connecting to yourself.

Summary:
The solution of pain and stress relief lays most of the time within us.
We need to become aware of our bodies and its signals again. By changing our movement and posture habits, we are able to create length in our muscles, less wear and tear on our joints and overall a better awareness and feeling for our bodies.
This is challenging in our fast paced world as it forces us to SLOW DOWN and LISTEN. This approach does not fit in with the " get stuff done", "bring results" and " I don't have time for this".

Overuse, wear and tear and stiffness stays unnoticed until we experience pain or discomfort. We often blame it on the age, which is easy but not true. If it was an age thing, why do even children develop pain conditions?
Returning to body awareness and feeling our muscles from the inside is the key for prevention in the first place by re-learning when there is already pain, stiffness or discomfort. and become able to manage and change it.
And this is important for everybody, no matter if athlete, office worker or couch potato. Everyone moves in a certain way, trains and performs a certain way and stands + sits in a certain way.
The best example are professional sports people who need to retire when they are 35 or 40 (soccer, rugby, gymnastics, ballet dancer etc), because they all have their dominant side they use to kick, throw, turn, jump on etc. and they are seen as "fit" and "mobile". They have developed their movement patterns and postures just like everyone else. They have worn out their bodies as most of the time they were focused on the outcome how to perform, how to build up strength and coordination etc. Fulfilling their demands. But a lot of trainings are changing their approach already, and integrating the somatic aspect in their trainings. It still is a relatively new approach, but there is more and more scientific proof available these days than 10 or even 20 ago that it works and makes a difference.

Final thought:
I certainly have learned a big lesson and am very glad about that. I have experienced the great effect myself, and can recommend it to others. Now I can offer better support for people in pain or how to prevent pain and discomfort in their bodies in the first place. Re-training the nervous system and creating new awareness and presence for the body and therefore healthier posture and effective movement patterns with joints in alignment and muscles flexible and strong. All resulting in better life quality, mobility and resilience. And all with a practise that is " self sufficient" and enables people to help themselves.
Worth a try, don't you think?

The exercises I was practising were developed by Moshe Feldenkrais & later modified by Dr. Thomas Hanna.
If you would like to try somatic exercises and Yoga, please get in touch with Britta and have a FREE chat with her to learn more.
www.rebalancemindandbody.com

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12/9/2024 0 Comments

How to set achievable goals

Do you fail in reaching your goals?
Here is your tool to achieve your goals!

Using the SMART principle to set your goals is your guarantee to succeed. Often we set goals that are too general, not specific or we are not really committed to achieve them, because maybe somebody else told us that we need to achieve this. So it is not really OUR goal. All those reasons can be a guarantee of failure and lead to frustration and giving up.
STOP! Not anymore!
Now we use the SMART principle to help you set achievable goals that are meaningful & achievable to YOU!

What does SMART stand for?

Each letter stands for a certain step you need to do, or think about.

S=Specific
What exactly do I want? Why is this important to me?
M=Measurable
How will I measure my success? How will I know when I have achieved my goal?
A=Attainable
What will I do to achieve this goal? How will I accomplish this goal?
R=Relevant/Realistic
Is this goal worthwhile? How will achieving it help me? Does this goal fit my values?
T =Time-Bound When will I accomplish my goal? How long will I give myself?

Example:
A SMART goal setting process for "increasing my income"

S= My income is 4000$ each month. I can pay all my bills easily, have some money left in case I need it and have some money to put into my savings account.
M= My bank statement/account shows a green 4000$+ at the start of each month
A= I ask my boss for a pay rise, I look for higher paid jobs or I push my own business and market it online and local ( depending on situation)
R= It is relevant to me and suits my value of "financial freedom" and it is a realistic amount I can achieve
T= I am earning 4000$ each month starting on the 1rst of ......(12 months from today)

Another example:
"loosing weight"
S=I am loosing 5kg of belly fat to improve my health
M=I am fitting in my favourite jeans again, my abdominal circumference is ....cm less
A= I am getting a personal trainer who designs a programme that suit me to loos belly fat, I contact a nutritionist to support me with my diet
R=This goal suits my value of "health" and it makes me feel better about how I see myself
T= I loose 5kg of belly fat within the next 6 months ( date from today- date of 6months ahead)

Did you notice how specific everything is worded?
Did you realize that the "to do" steps are already included, that give you a plan what to do next as well. It helps you to get into ACTION!
Use the SMART model for one goal at a time to make it specific and doable.
Another important step is, to word it in the present tense, as if it is already achieved. That makes it more real for your unconscious mind and is not stated in the "I will..." , which is future based but not specific enough. The future is tomorrow or in 10 years time. Wording it in the future tense makes it a "maybe I do it, maybe not" goal. You don't want a "maybe", you want a "I do it!" approach right?
The time is now to reach your goals, not in 20 years.
Are you ready to reach your goals now?

I hope you find this useful in the journey to create the life you want.
If you have unhelpful beliefs or emotions that are in your way and holding you back, get in touch with me and book an online Hypnotherapy session with me. We resolve the root cause of your fear, doubt, procrastination, etc and enable you to let go the old and move forward into the new.
Just ask Britta!
Wishing you well!

Get in touch on www.rebalancemindandbody.com

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11/14/2024 0 Comments

How to start if you want to improve your health, career, finances or any other area in your life:

Do you want to change or improve certain areas of your life?
Do you want to be healthier, fitter, happier in your job, loose weight or feel more confident?
Do you feel overwhelmed and don't know where or how to start?
The secret of being successful in making changes in your life, is to break your goals down into little steps and make a start in ONE area of your life, not all at once.
If you focus on one area at the time, you are able to stay motivated and focused and you will succeed, rather than being overwhelmed and staying stuck, which will make you get frustrated and give up.

My tipp for you:
Use the "wheel of life" worksheet to assess your life and pinpoint the areas you feel the most unfulfilled in, and then prioritize those areas if they all have the same rating.
Attached is a picture of an example of the "Wheel of time" that you can use.

If you feel stuck in areas of your life due to a lack of confidence, self doubt, anxiety, overwhelm etc, get in touch with me and book a Hypnotherapy session online. You need to clear the root cause of those feelings and thinking patterns to be able to step back into action and be able to reach your goals.

Contact us on www.rebalancemindandbody.com

Have a wonderful day and keep thriving!
Warm regards, Britta

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Author
Britta Bruns- Rebalance mind and body
Private therapy & coaching for pain relief and stress management

With my background as an Occupational therapist, my goal is to enable people to become self sufficient and confident in improving and maintain their health & wellbeing to live their best possible life!
-Britta Bruns-
Since 1999, Britta empowers people to overcome pain and stress and improve their quality of life. For an active, joyful and fulfilled way of living!

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