This is a somatic tracking exercise with Alan Gordon. This exercise is designed to help you rewire the cycle of chronic pain, neuroplastic pain. Our brain often confuses signals of fear, worry, or anxiety with pain. And in order to help your brain tell the difference, we’re gonna teach the brain that these signals, these bodily sensations are actually safe by observing them with curiosity, and this will help your brain and body turn down those sensations of pain. Alan Gordon designed and recorded this exercise. He’s the creator of Pain Reprocessing Therapy and I’m grateful that he was willing to share this exercise with us.
Settling into Somatic Tracking with Alan Gordon
Alan Gordon:
Okay. Close your eyes and slow your breath down for just a sec. Good. Breathe in a couple times just to kind of center yourself. That’s oftentimes just kind of slowing down your breath just a bit and focusing on the breath, coming in and out is a good way to center yourself for a good way to ground yourself, and I want you to see if you could bring your attention to the dominant physical sensation in your body right now, whether it’s in your back, whether it’s in your chest, whether it’s in your arms, or wherever you feel at most right now. Just let your attention go there, and if you’re feeling a sensation in more than one place, just choose one.
And I want you to see if you can focus on the physical sensation itself. Breathe into that physical sensation, wherever it is, whatever it feels like. Give a little air and give a little space, and I just want you to see if you can notice it, or when we feel a physical sensation that isn’t particularly pleasant, we have the tendency to try to distract ourselves from it. Or focus on something else. But I want you to see if you can do the opposite. Focus on the physical sensation and just assess it. Just see if you can watch it. You’re not trying to do anything, do it.
You’re not trying to get rid of it. You’re not trying to change it. You’re just familiarizing yourself with it. You’re just exploring it. So as you breathe in and you attend to this physical sensation, just notice is it pleasant? Is it unpleasant? Is it neutral? You’re just gathering information. One isn’t any better than the other.
You’re just assessing and just notice, is it widespread or is it more localized? Again, you’re just kind of assessing the characteristics. And really practicing seeing if you can watch this sensation from a place of truly detached curiosity or interest, just notice it. It’s a safe sensation. It’s not dangerous at all.
It’s perfectly safe and all you’re doing is you’re paying attention to it and noticing it. You don’t need to get rid of it. You don’t need to change it. You’re just getting to know it. And just check in and notice what does this sensation feel like? What are the characteristics of this sensation? Is it a tightness? Is it a clenching? Is it a squeezing? Is it a warm feeling? Is it a pulsing feeling? Is it a tingling feeling? Is it a fluttery feeling? You’re just gathering information. You’re just noticing, you’re assessing, you’re paying attention. And actually see if you could even appreciate just looking in mindfully gathering information about the sensation and just noticing what’s going on.
Practicing Somatic Tracking with Detached Curiosity
Really just see if you could be curious as you pay attention to the sensation, how interesting it is that your body is capable of generating these really interesting, unique sensations. And as you pay attention to this sensation, just see if you can notice what happens. Knowing that whatever happens is, okay, does it intensify?
Does it subside? Does it move around? Does it change in consistency? Does it stay exactly the same? You’re just gathering information. You are just noticing what happens as you attend to this sensation, knowing that as you pay attention to this physical sensation, you’re actually sub communicating to your brain that this really interesting, unique sensation is safe, that it’s okay, and you’re just getting to know it right now, in this very moment, you’re developing the neural pathways to pay attention to this physical sensation without fear, without any judgment, without any ulterior motive or any goals, you’re just watching. You’re just noticing you’re just taken in the show, and as you breathe into this sensation, just notice what happens.
Mastering Outcome Independence for Chronic Pain Relief
If it intensifies, that’s fine. Just follow it. Just ride that wave. If it subsides, that’s okay too. You’re just getting to know it. It doesn’t matter what it does. Or outcome independent. If it moves around, if it stays exactly the same, that’s okay. You’re just strengthening those brain muscles. You’re learning to pay attention mindfully, and whatever it does, it doesn’t matter.
The only thing that matters is that you watch it and notice it, and as it moves, just see if you could really almost enjoy, not the sensations themselves, but even just the act or the process of paying attention mindfully and communicating such a nice, loving message to your body and your brain that these sensations are safe.
Enjoy the show. It’s like you’re lying back in a field watching the clouds pass by just kind of noticing the shapes they make. And just attending, just watching, just feeling it out.
And take a couple more moments to breathe into this sensation, following it wherever it goes, if it goes. Just leaning into it, if it changes or moves in any direction.
And in a moment, I’m gonna have you open your eyes, but before you do, just take a couple more breaths to reconnect with yourself, to reground yourself to just stabilize. Take a breath. Good. Feel the physical sensation of the breath coming in and out and out. One more time.
