Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 days ago
Your relationship with pain probably goes one of the two ways…
Most people take the conventional route and try to obliterate it with drugs and extreme treatments they may not need (that can hurt them even more than the pain itself). In many cases, their relationship with pain defines who they are.
Paul and senior CHEK instructor Leigh Brandon, author of Beyond the Pain: A Whole-Person Approach to Understanding Pain and Participating in Recovery ( amzn.to/4zHGEoi ), explore a very different and holistic relationship with pain, one that doesn’t treat it like an enemy but a vital source of information about your body this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Leigh and his work at his website. Find him on social media via Instagram ( instagram.com/beyondthepainpod ), Twitter/X ( https://x.com/leighbrandon ) and TikTok ( tiktok.com/@beyondthepainpodcast ). Check out Leigh’s podcast, Beyond the Pain, on YouTube ( youtube.com/@beyondthepainpodcast ), Apple Podcasts ( podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/beyond-the-pain/id1636884725 ) and wherever you listen to them. Read the first chapter of Beyond the Pain at bodychek.co.uk/book-waitlist .
For Spirit Gym listeners: Download Leigh’s paper, The Load Capacity Hierarchy Model of Chronic Pain: A Systems Based Framework for Understanding Pain and Guiding Clinical Practice ( drive.google.com/file/d/1y7fMwWfTEu8TPuJ9W6RG1_eheTfg6Fct/view ), today!
0:00 Intro
4:54 Why Leigh felt compelled to write a book about pain.
6:46 More UK adults suffer from chronic pain than Americans, depending on the studies you read.
14:43 The double-whammy of taking a painkiller and medication for depression.
16:44 One of Leigh’s worst experiences with pain that took him 22 months to diagnose, treat and heal.
27:13 Do you have a pain identity?
31:39 Miasms (trapped emotions).
36:39 Why people treat pain as their enemy.
44:12 Treating fear as different emotions.
50:21 Proprioception.
1:03:30 Pain is far more diverse and complex than most people realize.
1:10:30 The four predominant causes of persistent pain that interact with each other, based on Leigh’s experience (structural, metabolic, nervous system regulation and emotional load).
1:15:08 People are so addicted to mobile phones, they use them in saunas!
1:22:40 Leigh narrows down his knee inflammation to eating porridge every morning for breakfast.
1:31:30 Viscerosomatic reflexes.
1:41:02 When we can make meaning and understand our pain, it raises our threshold and we are better able to live our lives.
1:54:23 Leigh’s six principles of recovery.
2:02:27 Pain exists as a vital path of communication and a safety valve that doesn’t always guarantee painful problems.
Listen to Paul's conversation with Leigh Brandon and check out the show notes page on our Spirit Gym website at paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/416-stop-treating-pain-like-the-enemy-with-leigh-brandon
Thanks to our awesome sponsors!
• Spirit Gym paulchek.com/books (be among the first to buy the first volume of Paul’s Spirit Gym book series and receive free bonuses!)
• BIOptimizers bioptimizers.com/spiritgym (save an extra 15% on your purchase by using the code PAUL15 at checkout)
• Organifi organifi.com/chek20 (save 20% on your purchase by using the code CHEK20 at checkout)
• CHEK Institute chekinstitute.com/movement (watch Paul’s Movement as Medicine workshop for FREE!)
• Paleovalley paleovalley.com/chek15 (save 15% on your first purchase)
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music
Your relationship with pain probably goes one of the two ways…
Most people take the conventional route and try to obliterate it with drugs and extreme treatments they may not need (that can hurt them even more than the pain itself). In many cases, their relationship with pain defines who they are.
Paul and senior CHEK instructor Leigh Brandon, author of Beyond the Pain: A Whole-Person Approach to Understanding Pain and Participating in Recovery ( amzn.to/4zHGEoi ), explore a very different and holistic relationship with pain, one that doesn’t treat it like an enemy but a vital source of information about your body this week on Spirit Gym.
Learn more about Leigh and his work at his website. Find him on social media via Instagram ( instagram.com/beyondthepainpod ), Twitter/X ( https://x.com/leighbrandon ) and TikTok ( tiktok.com/@beyondthepainpodcast ). Check out Leigh’s podcast, Beyond the Pain, on YouTube ( youtube.com/@beyondthepainpodcast ), Apple Podcasts ( podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/beyond-the-pain/id1636884725 ) and wherever you listen to them. Read the first chapter of Beyond the Pain at bodychek.co.uk/book-waitlist .
For Spirit Gym listeners: Download Leigh’s paper, The Load Capacity Hierarchy Model of Chronic Pain: A Systems Based Framework for Understanding Pain and Guiding Clinical Practice ( drive.google.com/file/d/1y7fMwWfTEu8TPuJ9W6RG1_eheTfg6Fct/view ), today!
0:00 Intro
4:54 Why Leigh felt compelled to write a book about pain.
6:46 More UK adults suffer from chronic pain than Americans, depending on the studies you read.
14:43 The double-whammy of taking a painkiller and medication for depression.
16:44 One of Leigh’s worst experiences with pain that took him 22 months to diagnose, treat and heal.
27:13 Do you have a pain identity?
31:39 Miasms (trapped emotions).
36:39 Why people treat pain as their enemy.
44:12 Treating fear as different emotions.
50:21 Proprioception.
1:03:30 Pain is far more diverse and complex than most people realize.
1:10:30 The four predominant causes of persistent pain that interact with each other, based on Leigh’s experience (structural, metabolic, nervous system regulation and emotional load).
1:15:08 People are so addicted to mobile phones, they use them in saunas!
1:22:40 Leigh narrows down his knee inflammation to eating porridge every morning for breakfast.
1:31:30 Viscerosomatic reflexes.
1:41:02 When we can make meaning and understand our pain, it raises our threshold and we are better able to live our lives.
1:54:23 Leigh’s six principles of recovery.
2:02:27 Pain exists as a vital path of communication and a safety valve that doesn’t always guarantee painful problems.
Listen to Paul's conversation with Leigh Brandon and check out the show notes page on our Spirit Gym website at paulchek.com/blog/podcast-episodes/416-stop-treating-pain-like-the-enemy-with-leigh-brandon
Thanks to our awesome sponsors!
• Spirit Gym paulchek.com/books (be among the first to buy the first volume of Paul’s Spirit Gym book series and receive free bonuses!)
• BIOptimizers bioptimizers.com/spiritgym (save an extra 15% on your purchase by using the code PAUL15 at checkout)
• Organifi organifi.com/chek20 (save 20% on your purchase by using the code CHEK20 at checkout)
• CHEK Institute chekinstitute.com/movement (watch Paul’s Movement as Medicine workshop for FREE!)
• Paleovalley paleovalley.com/chek15 (save 15% on your first purchase)
We may earn commissions from qualifying purchases using affiliate links.
Music Credit: Meet Your Heroes (444Hz), Composed, mixed, mastered and produced by Michael RB Schwartz of Brave Bear Music
