Archive of Monte Hueftle's Runningpain.com updates
Monte Hueftle has kindly given us permission to archive his RunningPain.com updates on the wiki.
Monte Hueftle's book, The Master Practice
Runningpain Updates
11/23/2009: Holiday Emotional Energy – Working with or against. 02/18/2009: Three Strategies for Thinking Clean 03/11/2009: Practice Creating the Outcome 04/08/2009: Investigate Your Emotions 04/23/2009: Identify Your Thoughts 05/06/2009: Focus on the Present 05/20/2009: Practice Root Lock 05/28/2009: Surrender 06/10/2009: Energy Circuit 06/23/2009: You Have the Power to Heal 06/30/2009: Change is Power 07/21/2009: Three Techniques to Express Your Emotions 08/04/2009: TMS Day to Day 08/11/2009: Treatment Steps 08/25/2009: Alignment 09/07/2009: Changing Thought Patterns 09/23/2009: Earnest Practice 10/07/2009: Altering Thought Patterns 10/21//2009: Spiritual Energy
Glossary
Anger: Monte says that an angry outburst like slamming a door is a "defense mechanism that is repressing the feeling. Instead of really experiencing the feeling, you divert your energy to an angry outburst, allowing the emotion (energy) to be stuck, create a blockage or be stored in the tissues of your muscles and nerves. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
Closed Off Thought Patterns: TMS is caused by repressing one's emotions and not allowing one to express their thoughts and emotions. Monte considers thought patterns that are repressed as closed off. These are the thought patterns that people do not express and seek to suppress. They are the cause of TMS. Monte urges people to change from these thought patterns to ones that are open and allowing of emotions and feelings. (Discussed in Practice Creating The Outcome, and Energy Circuit)
Earnest Practice: When some people start the TMS approach they do so halfheartedly. They go through the treatment techniques, yet they also continue treating the physical symptom. Monte argues that they only way to overcome TMS is to 100% accept the diagnosis and practice wholeheartedly. Earnest Practice is having confidence in the approach and taking the work seriously.
Guided Imagery: In some aspects this is a form of meditation. Guided Imagery is a practice where the individual imagines their life without pain, and imagines how their body would feel if it did not repress emotions. Monte suggests that this practice be done in a quiet relaxed atmosphere. (Discussed in Surrender).
Ideal Role Playing: Like perfectionism, ideal role playing is an action that seeks to create the perfect ideal life. This action involves changing who you are to fit an image that you think a good parent, spouse, employee, etc. should be. It means that a person is not allowing themselves to express their real emotions, but instead they repress their emotions. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
Judging: Monte argues that by judging people, one is seeking to ignore their own feelings and present situation. By focusing on someone's faults one is repressing how they feel about themselves and not expressing their own emotions. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
Low Self Worth: Having low self worth can make a person try to please everyone and try to accomplish and be successful at everything. It can result in perfectionism, and can create an unsustainable amount of pressure in a person. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
The Master Practice: Monte Hueftle developed his own three part treatment approach which he calls the Master Practice. This approach is discussed in detail in his book with the same title, The Master Practice. The three parts of the approach are Think Psychological, Think Clean, and Practice Root Lock. The approach expands off of Sarno's treatment plan, and seeks to help people learn how to change their thought patterns away from ones that cause pain. (Discussed in Archive of Monte Hueftle's Runningpain.com updates and The Master Practice)
Perfectionism: Some people feel like everything has to be perfect. Monte suggests that in trying to correct every fault in one's life, family, career, a person is actually repressing their emotions and failing to live life in the present. The result of this is the creation of tension and stress that causes chronic pain. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
Power-Manipulation-Control: When a person attempts to control someone or something else and have it do what they want, the person is actually seeking to change what the present moment is. Instead of accepting current circumstances they seek to alter them, which usually involves the repression of their emotions, which leads to tension and the onset of chronic pain. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
Root Lock: Root Lock, also known as Mula Bandha, is a yoga technique that Monte has incorporated into his treatment program. He claims that the practice can help people release tension and energy, as well as realign their body's energy. The practice involves contracting the pelvic muscles, and is the third part of Monte's treatment program. (Discussed in Practice Root Lock, and Ch. 4 of the The Master Practice)
Surrender: Surrender does not mean to give in to the pain, and accept that you will live in pain your entire life. It refers to surrender to the diagnosis and treatment. This means that a person should stop treating the physical symptom, but should treat the cause of the symptom. Monte also urges people to surrender the need to find an outside solution. This means that to stop searching internet forums and re-reading books to find a sudden miracle cure. Healing from chronic illnesses takes time and you must be willing to do the work. (Discussed in Surrender, You Have the Power to Heal, Change is Power Update, and Ch. 2 of The Master Practice)
Think Clean: Most people can recognize that their pain is caused by psychological factors, and they know that when they experience their chronic symptoms they need to examine think psychologically. Monte suggests that their is a next step to be taken after one interprets their thought patterns. Thinking Clean is the process of recognizing your thoughts and adjusting them to how you would want to act. Throughout his updates Monte explains this as thinking about how you would feel without pain, or expressing your emotions to other people. This means telling people how their actions make you feel. (Discussed in Three Strategies for Thinking Clean Update, Practice Creating the Outcome Update, Identify Your Thoughts Update and Ch. 3 of The Master Practice).
Think Psychologically: This is an idea that is taken from Dr. Sarno and many other TMS practitioners. Since TMS is not a structural issue than a person's focus on their pain should be a psychological one. In other words when a person experiences their chronic symptoms they should think about the psychological factors causing their symptoms, i.e. their emotions, past events, personality traits, instead of thinking about ways to treat their physical pain. (Discussed in Holiday Emotional Energy Update, Investigate Your Emotions Update, and Ch. 2 of The Master Practice)
Thought Energy Circuit: This refers to the amount of energy a person spends everyday focusing on negative thought patterns such as work environment, personal/professional relationships, and worrying about their symptoms. By recognizing the negative energy circuits a person creates, Monte suggests they can then change their methods of interacting with these triggers and turn negatives into positive energy circuits. (Discussed in Energy Circuit Update)
Waiting and Searching: While several of these avoidance techniques involve a person seeking to change a present situation themselves, waiting and searching involves the opposite. Here people wait and search for something outside of themselves to change their present situation. They look to other people and other things to change their lives. Primarily this results in denying one's current situation and emotions. (Discussed in Ch. 3 of The Master Practice)
