Most people who come to see me for acupuncture have some discomfort that they’d like to improve or get rid of. In effect, they’re looking for being more comfortable and have less pain, irritation, anxiety, fatigue, and/ or irregularity. Discomfort usually signals to us that something is wrong in some way. It’s a message that we learn to heed and address to keep ourselves healthy and happy. 

Comfort is a subjective assessment. The environment is always in flux, sometimes it’s hotter, sometimes it’s colder. There are times a little heat feels nice, and times that any heat feels too much. There are times when cold air feels fresh and exhilarating, and times that it feels biting and freezing. A little breeze can feel refreshing, but a stiff wind can cut right through to the bones. When we’re physically exhausted sleep can come easy and be deep, but when we’re overly alert, anxious, and awake and trying to fall asleep every little thing can be an annoyance and irritation. 

Our comfort also relies on our tolerance to the sensations we feel. Some people can do fine in the heat and the cold, while others only feel good in a narrow, temperate zone. You will see in many of the Chinese medicine recommendations that are given surrounding how to live and behave in the different seasons, that it is suggested you push your boundaries a little to increase your tolerance and nudge your body to get used to the edges of comfort with the intention of increasing your tolerance to swings in temperature, dampness, and wind. As autumn approaches it is suggested that you don’t bundle up on the first cool evening but allow yourself to adjust to the temperature without overdressing. And again, when it is winter and the spring approaches, it is suggested that you take of your layers slowly and don’t just run out in shorts and a t-shirt the first warm day.

These actions force the exterior of your body, the pores and skin and your external qi defense, to change its strategy. Our external defensive boundary is very intelligent and can adjust to very hot summers and very cold winters, but that adjustment takes some time. You have to train for it in a way. You have to allow some discomfort in to prepare for the greater change ahead. You need to allow your own comfort level to vary. If you can do this, you can often build your tolerances to weather and scenarios that you have even had difficulty with in the past. You (and your body) can learn new tricks.

Comfort is also a word we use to describe our mental-emotional states as well. We have different tolerances for worry, anxiety, boredom, irritation, anger, fear, and joy. As with our physical body, the personal tolerances we have vary person to person, and they also can be played with and changed with exposure to areas of discomfort at our edges. We can move the needle on what we can tolerate depending on how we train ourselves when things are not going as we would like them to be. 

We can learn and use meditation as a very capable tool for this job of expanding our comfort zone. In meditation we can learn to sit through discomfort–both physical and mental-emotional–and learn how to allow uncertainty to coexist with our own peacefulness. Whether you are suffering from physical or mental-emotional discomfort, meditation is a great tool than you can use to your benefit in finding more comfort in those uneasy places throughout your day and week. 

Here is a link to a short video Resting Back and Trusting the Unknown that you can listen to for a further sense of what this approach might look like when confronting the unknown. Usually we find the unknown to be an uncomfortable dilemma, if not something we outright fear, but Thich Nhat Hanh has taught that often the unknown before us is broader and more wide open than the narrow ideas we may have held about the future. His teaching, and that of many other teachers, is that tuning into this present moment is often the most powerful thing we can do when facing the unknown. Please take the time to listen when you can, I think you’ll appreciate the lesson. And if you’d like to read a book by Kaira Jewel Lingo, the teacher-narrator, you can find it here–We Were Made For These Times.

In the meantime, back to those present discomforts, come in for an acupuncture or Tuina massage treatment and let some Chinese medicine help you move toward greater comfort.