# The monk who trained his back muscles with mindfulness

- Teacher: Ajahn Brahm
- Type: Story
- URL: https://beingmindfulstories.com/stories/brahm-monk-spine-muscles-mindfulness
- Themes: mindfulness, body, pain, perseverance
- Life situations: chronic back pain, physical stress, medical limits

## Synopsis (editorial summary)

A monk with a congenital spinal weakness and severe pain is told by doctors nothing can be done and he shouldn't meditate. Following a book, he rubs the unfelt muscles beside his spine daily until he can feel them, learns to move them, and exercises them for months until they compensate for his spine — and he can sit without pain.

## The story, as told by Ajahn Brahm (verbatim captions)

Just like, I won't say who this monk is. He had terrible pain in his spine and that was because he had some congenital deformation in his spine. Doctors at that time... He had a CT scan and said nothing you can do about it. But the doctor said I'd advise not meditating because that makes it worse. Well, I'm a monk! That's what I do! But fortunately he found this excellent book and of how... A long time ago, how to use some mindfulness to cure the problem. Because his spine was too weak and it was causing some problems. But, said this little book, there are muscles on either side of your spine which most people aren't aware of at all because you don't need to be. Much of your body you don't need to be aware of it, so you're not. So the book says start off, take your hand and rub those muscles on either side of the spine as an exercise every day for an hour or something every day. Because when you're actually touching them you can actually feel the sensation of your... And now my thumb touching one of those muscles and that creates a connection in your mind. A neuro connection. The more you do that the more you can be aware of those muscles, the more sensitive they become. Until you can actually feel those muscles without needing to touch them, just as I can feel my nose without needing to touch it. I can feel my hand without needing to touch it. It becomes sensitive. Then once you can actually be mindful of those muscles, trial and error, try and move them. After a while you'll learn how to move those muscles at will. Because now he was mindful of them you can do something with them. Now exercise them: stretch them relax them, stretch them relax them, stretch them relax them. So he did that and then after stretching relaxing them for a few months those muscles became so strong, much stronger than other people's muscles, that they perfectly compensate for the weakness in his spine. Now he can sit meditation, no pain anymore.

## Teaching point

Awareness of the body gives you some control over it — to strengthen or to relax tension.

## Reflection (in the spirit of Ajahn Brahm's talk)

Told nothing could be done for his spine, one monk learned to feel the muscles beside it, then move them, then strengthen them until he could sit without pain. That's one person's experience, not a treatment plan, so check with a doctor first. The everyday lesson is gentler: notice where tension sits, and you can often soften it.

## Source

- [How To Not Have Any Stress | Ajahn Brahm | 12 May 2017](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJSxDv4XrY4) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 56:14 to 58:38: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJSxDv4XrY4&t=3374s

Other tellings of this story:

- [Guided Meditation | Ajahn Brahm | 21 January 2023](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0GRfzfop20) (Buddhist Society of Western Australia) — watch from 3:11 to 4:09: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0GRfzfop20&t=191s