- Awareness-Based Healing for Chronic Pain, Trauma and Personal Transformation is the core program designed and developed to offer an embodied approach to healing. This program integrates principles and practices from several well-established pain and trauma recovery methods that I have studied, formally trained in, and incorporated into my own pain and trauma recovery journey. All four of these programs have published research studies and are evidence-based practices.
iRest Yoga Nidra
Pain Reprocessing Therapy
Somatic Experiencing
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
- A central part of this program is exploring our relationship with pain and how it can sometimes become closely tied to our sense of identity. When pain is present for a long time, it can begin to feel like it defines who we are. In these classes, we gently explore another possibility: that even when pain is present, there is also a deeper sense of awareness and stability within us that remains intact.
- This understanding is not something that needs to be figured out intellectually. It is something people begin to experience through simple embodied practices such as gentle movement, breath awareness, nervous system regulation, and guided attention to the senses.
- Over time, many people discover that pain is an experience they are having, but it is not the whole of who they are. As this awareness grows, fear and nervous system overwhelm can begin to soften, allowing the body to feel safer and more supported.
- These practices can help you relate to pain and trauma with greater compassion and steadiness, supporting healing without denying or minimizing the reality of their experience.
ARE YOU READY TO GET STARTED?
SIGN UP FOR PROGRAMS AND CLASSES HERE:
Private and Group Classes:
https://mindhealthembodiment.com/class-sign-up
Free Online Healing Chronic Pain Together MeetUp Group:
https://www.meetup.com/healingchronicpaintogether/
HOW THIS APPROACH DIFFERS
- Many pain and trauma programs focus mainly on changing thoughts or beliefs. While this can be helpful, this program also works directly with your body, awareness, and supportive peer connection. Together we explore gentle embodied practices, simple nervous system awareness, and a deeper sense of presence that can exist even when pain is present.
- This program is guided by a certified yoga and meditation teacher and peer who has personal lived experience with pain and healing. Rather than approaching pain only from a clinical perspective, this work is grounded in shared understanding, compassion, and real-life experience.
- You will find that healing deepens when you feel understood by others who have walked similar paths. Research on chronic pain peer support shows that shared understanding and mutual encouragement can strengthen resilience and help people maintain progress over time.
- Emerging research also suggests that experiences of simple, open awareness can support mental well-being and reduce stress.
- This program grew out of lived experience and ongoing practice. The methods shared here are the same ones I continue to use myself.
- At its heart, this approach recognizes that healing is not something we have to force. With the right support, awareness, and connection, the body and mind often begin to find their own path toward greater balance and well-being.
- Among people with chronic pain, loneliness has been linked to greater pain intensity, increased emotional distress and the tendency to feel overwhelmed and helpless about pain. We are social animals and we need each other. My classes welcome you with open arms, with mutual compassion and understanding. We are in this together.
why awareness-based Healing works
IT IS BASED ON RESEARCH
- Awareness-Based Healing begins with a simple recognition: the mind and body are not separate. Our thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations arise together within a living system.
- Modern neuroscience increasingly supports this understanding. Research on chronic pain and trauma shows that the nervous system can become caught in protective patterns. Even after the original threat has passed, the brain and body may continue sending signals of danger. Healing often begins when the nervous system experiences safety again.
- Cognitive scientist George Lakoff helped explain this connection through his theory of embodied cognition. His research shows that human understanding is rooted in bodily experience. The way we think, feel, and make meaning grows out of sensory and physical interaction with the world. This insight suggests that healing and personal transformation are not only mental processes, they are embodied ones.
- For this reason, Awareness-Based Healing invites people to reconnect with their bodies through gentle practices such as breath awareness, sensing internal sensations, and simple movement. These practices help calm the nervous system and restore a sense of safety.
- An equally important part of healing is human connection. Research on peer support groups consistently shows that people living with chronic pain, trauma, and mental health challenges benefit from shared experience and mutual understanding. Studies of peer-led and online support communities have found reductions in pain interference, emotional distress, and isolation, while increasing hope, resilience, and confidence in self-management (See the Research below).
- In this program, embodied awareness practices are woven together with peer connection and shared leadership. When people gather with others who understand their experiences, healing often deepens. Listening to one another with compassion can help regulate the nervous system and remind us that we are not alone.
- Over time, many people begin to discover something unexpected: pain and trauma are real experiences, but they do not define the whole of who we are. From this recognition, something begins to shift. Awareness grows, the nervous system softens, and a deeper sense of wholeness becomes visible. From this place, healing and personal transformation becomes possible.
THE ROOTS OF THIS CORE PROGRAM IS BASED ON RESEARCH FROM THESE 4 PROGRAMS:
MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION
PAIN REPROCESSING THERAPY
IREST YOGA NIDRA
SOMATIC EXPERIENCING
1) Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
- A. Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Patients With Chronic Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial (2025)
Brief description: A randomized controlled trial in a hospital pain clinic testing an 8-week group MBSR program in 149 chronic pain patients, with follow-up to 13 months.
Outcomes: The MBSR group had significantly greater reductions in pain intensity and pain interference, including mood, work, relationships, and sleep, plus better quality of life at 13 months.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40082096/ - B. Mindfulness-based Interventions for Chronic Low Back Pain: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis (2024)
Brief description: Systematic review/meta-analysis of 18 studies of mindfulness-based interventions for chronic low back pain; includes MBSR among the intervention types.
Outcomes: The meta-analysis found a beneficial effect on pain intensity, with authors concluding mindfulness-based interventions appear helpful for reducing pain intensity, while also noting study-quality limitations.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37942696/ - C. The effectiveness of MBSR on depression, PTSD, and mindfulness among military veterans: A systematic review and meta-analysis (2024)
Brief description: A meta-analysis of 13 studies in veterans, relevant because trauma/PTSD often overlaps with persistent pain.
Outcomes: MBSR showed medium effects for reducing depression and PTSD symptoms and small improvements in mindfulness after treatment; follow-up benefits persisted more clearly for depression and mindfulness than for PTSD.
Study link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11583271/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
2) Pain Reprocessing Therapy (PRT)
- A. Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial (2022)
Brief description: Landmark randomized clinical trial testing PRT for primary chronic back pain.
Outcomes: The trial concluded that a psychological treatment focused on changing beliefs about the causes and threat value of pain can provide substantial and durable relief for chronic back pain.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34586357/ - B. Reattribution to Mind-Brain Processes and Recovery From Chronic Back Pain: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2023)
Brief description: Secondary analysis of the PRT trial examining mechanism.
Outcomes: PRT markedly increased participants’ reattribution of pain to mind/brain processes, and those increases were associated with reductions in pain intensity, supporting the theory behind the treatment.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37768666/ - C. Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: 5-Year Follow-Up of a Randomized Clinical Trial (2025)
Brief description: Long-term follow-up of the original PRT trial.
Outcomes: The paper reports 5-year follow-up data from the randomized trial, showing unusually long-term follow-up for this approach and supporting durability as an important question for PRT. PubMed’s entry is brief and does not provide the full abstract on the page, but it is the key longer-term follow-up study.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40736996/
3. iRest / Yoga Nidra
- This is another area with a thin recent evidence base. I found 1 direct recent iRest pain study and 2 recent Yoga Nidra studies that support the same practice family, but are not all iRest-specific.
- A. “I am not pain, I have pain”: A pilot study examining iRest yoga nidra as a mind-body intervention for persistent pain (2025)
Brief description: First-of-its-kind qualitative pilot study of a 6-week iRest for Pain group in multidisciplinary pain care.
Outcomes: Participants described decreased pain intensity and pain interference, an expanded relationship with pain, greater self-management capacity, and some reduced opioid use; because it was a small pilot, it is promising but still preliminary.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39862599/ - B. Yoga Nidra and Pain: A Between-, Within-Group Meta-Analysis and Dose-Response Meta-Regression (2025)
Brief description: Meta-analysis of 12 studies and 1,176 participants on Yoga Nidra for pain. This is broader than iRest, but closely related conceptually and clinically.
Outcomes: Yoga Nidra showed potential to reduce pain intensity versus passive controls and within groups over time, though the authors caution that the overall methodological quality was low.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41187098/ - C. Comparing the Effects of Yoga Nidra and Body Scan Practices on Biopsychosocial Factors Contributing to Chronic Pain (2026)
Brief description: Recent chronic pain study comparing single-session mind-body practices. This is Yoga Nidra rather than iRest specifically.
Outcomes: The study summary reports that a single session significantly improved chronic pain intensity and pain anxiety immediately and again 24 hours later.
Study link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12931642/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
4. Somatic Experiencing (SE)
- A. Somatic Experiencing® for patients with low back pain and comorbid posttraumatic stress symptoms: a randomised controlled trial (2020)
Brief description: RCT of 114 people with low back pain plus post-traumatic stress symptoms, comparing SE + physiotherapy versus physiotherapy alone.
Outcomes: Both groups improved in pain-related disability and had small reductions in PTSS, but adding SE did not produce additional benefit over physiotherapy alone in this trial.
Study link: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33029333/ - B. Somatic experiencing – effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: a scoping literature review (2021)
Brief description: Scoping review of 16 empirical studies on SE. Not limited to chronic pain, but highly relevant for trauma-related somatic symptoms.
Outcomes: The review concluded SE has promising preliminary evidence for reducing traumatic stress, affective symptoms, and somatic symptoms, but the authors emphasized that the evidence base is still weak and needs more rigorous RCTs.
Study link: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8276649/?utm_source=chatgpt.com
RESEARCH ON PEER LED SUPPORT
1. Peer-Led Pain Management Program (Cluster Randomized Trial)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8375026/
This study found that a peer-led pain management program significantly improved pain self-efficacy and quality of life for people with chronic pain.
2. Peer Coach–Led Chronic Pain Self-Management (ECLIPSE Trial)
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7728830/
This trial evaluated peer coaching for chronic pain self-management, examining effects on pain symptoms, quality of life, and patient activation.
3. Peer-Led Chronic Pain Self-Management Program Outcomes
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9476237/
Researchers found that peer-led programs can improve pain disability, depression, and pain self-efficacy across different populations.
4. Experiences of Patient-Led Chronic Pain Peer Support Groups
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8665998/
This study examined how patients experience peer-led support groups after pain management programs, finding benefits related to emotional support and coping.
5. Peer-Delivered Intervention for Chronic Pain
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9724177/
A peer-delivered program improved pain self-efficacy, pain intensity, and functional limitations over time.
What These Studies Show (Summary)
Across these studies, peer support interventions have been associated with:
- improved pain self-efficacy
- reduced pain interference
- reduced depression
- improved quality of life
- increased social connection and coping skills
methods and practices for Pain and trauma recovery
What is Guided Sensory Attention?
What is Reflective Self-Inquiry for Pain Recovery?
What is Reflective Self-Inquiry for Pain Recovery?
- Guided sensory attention is a gentle practice of learning how to notice physical sensations without bracing against them, analyzing them, or trying to make them go away.
- In chronic pain, the nervous system often becomes trained to scan the body for danger. Sensations are quickly labeled as threatening. This increases fear, muscle tension, and protective responses that can intensify pain over time.
- Guided sensory attention slowly retrains this pattern.
- Individuals are invited to notice sensations exactly as they are in the present moment. They then distinguish between sensation and fear-based interpretation while observing qualities such as temperature, pressure, movement, or intensity without judgment, staying connected to breath, posture, and external support while sensing the body.
- The goal is not exposure or endurance, but safety and choice. Attention is guided in ways that allow the nervous system to remain regulated rather than overwhelmed.
- Over time, this practice can reduce threat responses, soften habitual guarding, and restore a sense of trust in the body’s signals.
What is Reflective Self-Inquiry for Pain Recovery?
What is Reflective Self-Inquiry for Pain Recovery?
What is Reflective Self-Inquiry for Pain Recovery?
- Reflective Self-inquiry is the practice of gently questioning the relationship to pain rather than trying to control the pain itself.
- Chronic pain often becomes fused with identity:
- “I am broken.”
- “My body is unsafe.”
- “This pain is who I am now.”
- Reflective Self-inquiry helps loosen this fusion. Instead of asking, “How do I get rid of this pain?" Self- inquiry invites questions such as:
- What am I believing about this sensation right now?
- What happens when I notice the sensation without telling a story about it?
- Is there awareness here that can observe the sensation without being harmed by it?
- What parts of me are intact even when pain is present?
- This Self- inquiry is not intellectual analysis. It is guided, embodied, and paced to support nervous system safety.
- Through Self- inquiry, participants begin to experience pain as something that is happening, rather than something that defines them.