The Healing Path: a gentle approach to create space for growth

Since September 2022 I had been stuck in the persistent pain cycle. Tension caused me to experience back pain and my pain created more tension. I started reading about mind-body solutions. I discovered a book by John Sarno (Healing Back Pain) that resonated with me especially when he talked about the brain sending the ‘wrong’ signals to the body sometimes. The reason this caught my attention was something my physiotherapist said in an early session. He characterised my condition like this: “The alarm bells keep ringing, but the fire has gone out….”

When I read about neuroplastic pain I was beginning to see that there were practitioners looking into this problem. They were building an evidence base to generate theories about it. Neuroplastic pain occurs when the brain misinterprets safe nerve signals as dangerous, leading to chronic pain without a clear physical cause. That led me in turn to SIRPA.

There were two things I found when I worked with Lindsay (from May 2025):

1. A coach who had experienced what I had been through. It was important to me to work with someone who knew what it felt like to have chronic and acute pain.
2. Support with the psychological aspect of recovery alongside my physiotherapy. In other words an integrated mind-body approach.

I was ready to embrace brain reprocessing therapy or to put it more simply I learned that I needed some tools and strategies to persuade my brain that my back no longer needed pain signals to protect me. Lindsay helped me to navigate a healing path with the required strategies but what reached deep inside of me was her consistent reminders to forge a gentle approach that created a space for personal growth. It was clear that she had been on a similar journey herself, which gave me the confidence to trust her advice.

Lindsay coached me to understand the importance of language and tone that I was using towards my pain. It’s common for many of us to wish that we could ‘fix’ our backs whereas these methods encourage us instead to heal the mind and body. For example, I understand better now that when I feel safer, pain and anxiety begin to ease. In this way I was being encouraged to reframe my beliefs.

Visualisation helped me to imagine a place of calm and peace. I learned to use more reassuring phrases, be kinder to myself and show self compassion, which I had not really ever done before. One of the most helpful and most used approaches at the beginning was the pause, breathe, feel, reassure tool. Through Lindsay’s Vibrant Coaching programme, I found that guided meditation such as Yoga Nidra and somatic relaxation exercises really helped calm my nervous system down. Through the process I was able to rebuild trust in movement and yes, even celebrate my few successes. I am securely on the healing path now and still using the tools Lindsay has taught me. In the not too distant future, I want to go hiking, play more advanced table tennis and finally come off my meds for good. Three years ago I could barely walk 100 steps a day. Over the Christmas and New Year period of 2025-26 I averaged 7,500 steps a day.

Tony learned to calm his nervous system through visualisation, self‑compassion, and tools like pause–breathe–feel–reassure, gradually rebuilding trust in movement and celebrating small wins. With Lindsay’s coaching and practices such as Yoga Nidra and somatic relaxation, he moved from barely walking 100 steps a day to averaging 7,500, and now is firmly on his healing path, with hopeful goals for the future.

Join people who have found relief through the SIRPA approach to chronic pain.