Pain is a teacher

Bodies are very intelligent; pain is teaching us what to avoid. You can learn to use pain as a signal that you need to change what you are doing. If the technique is causing pain in your body, you are doing something off-center. … For the bodyworker, an awkward position, a misalignment, or even just a negative thought which activates our emotional holding pattern can cause us physical pain. Ignoring the pain can lead to a serious injury. If we acknowledge the pain, it is possible to trace it to the cause and then we can do something about the pain.

-- from The Ultimate Hand Book by Maja Evans, Laughing Duck Press, 1992