When Your Body Feels Stuck in Pain: A Mind-Body Conversation with Sarah Highland

Episode 132 • 36 mins 52 secs

“This book is an invitation: an invitation for you to find and adorn your own inner temple. To return to it again and again. To create rituals that speak your language, carry your symbols, and guide you through chaos and into clarity.”

— Jean Culbertson Sutton, Ritual Well

What if the small things you already do - lighting a candle, holding a meaningful object, pausing with a cup of tea - are actually powerful rituals?

In this episode, host Elizabeth Mintun welcomes back ritual practitioner and author Jean Culbertson Sutton to explore the power of ritual and how it can reconnect us with ourselves, each other, and the sacred within everyday life. Jean shares how rituals can emerge organically from our lives and become anchors during times of transition, grief, uncertainty, and growth.

If you've ever felt drawn to meaningful practices but weren’t sure where to start, this conversation offers a beautiful doorway in.

Key Takeaways

• Pain is always real, even when tests show “nothing wrong.” Pain isn’t “in your head” - your nervous system interprets signals and creates the experience of pain, even without visible tissue damage.

• Healing often involves both mind and body. Trauma, stress, sleep, fear of movement, and medical experiences all influence chronic pain. Addressing these alongside physical care can be transformative.

• Hope exists even when pain feels hopeless. If you’ve tried medications or specialists without relief, exploring a biopsychosocial, nervous-system-informed approach can offer new pathways for healing.

Resources

Sarah Highland’s website: https://www.pelvicfloorandmore.com/

Sarah’s IG: https://www.instagram.com/pelvicfloorandmore/

Resources Sarah mentioned in this episode:

Noigroup Clinical DIscussions - Youtube

Home - Pelvic Global Directory

Rachel Zoffness Pain Science Author

Learn more about 1:1 Coaching with Elizabeth Mintun here

Contact Elizabeth: [email protected]

Find Elizabeth on Facebook & IG @thecalmingground

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