While in my twenties, I had a work injury at the Newport News Shipyard and hurt my lower back. I’ve tried pretty much every treatment for my back, including two spine surgeries. I’ve gotten steroid epidural injections at OSC and while they helped, the pain never goes away. My wife heard about the Mindfulness for Chronic Pain Management Program at OSC, with Dr. Cal Robinson, on the radio and she basically made me attend.
I learned about meditation and breathing in the class and I stuck with it. Dr. Robinson helped me to understand how Mindfulness works. About halfway through the class, I realized that by using the techniques he taught, I could bring my pain down from a Level Seven to about a Level Three in just a minute, thirty seconds. It is incredible that I can do this by focusing my attention on my breath and by breathing deeply.
I was so impressed by the positive effects of Mindfulness on my pain, I continued to study after the class was over. I wanted to take all of what I had learned and to pay it forward to others. I now teach Mindfulness, have become a Reiki Master, and teach qi gong, pronounced “Chi kong”, which is a form of walking meditation, and Tai Chi. I created my own meditation CD, set to music, so that others can purchase or download the meditations from Spotify. I have started my own business called It’s Your Journey, to help others learn how to positively change their lives for the better through Mindfulness, Meditation and other principles.
This journey of mine started because I learned a better way of dealing with my pain. I am grateful to Dr. Robinson for giving me the tools I needed to live a better life.
Jarrod Burke