The Morning I Woke Up Without Pain
- Nov 19
- 2 min read
By Jaime Alefosio
Founder of Hey Mary Jane
For 20 years I suffered from chronic pain. It became a reflex. Before I checked my phone, before my feet hit the floor, I scanned my body, waiting for the pain to announce itself. Chronic pain had rewired my brain to expect suffering before sunrise.
Everything changed after two back-to-back Kambo treatments . The kind of deep medicine work that cracks you open from the inside out. I had no idea it would be the turning point in my healing. For the first time in decades, I experienced complete relief from pain. It felt like someone had turned the static off in my body. But for weeks , every morning afterward, I’d still open my eyes with that same thought: Is my pain back?
Then, about three or four weeks later, I caught myself.
I literally said out loud, “Stop. Stop asking for it.”
That moment …that awareness, changed everything.
Instead of scanning for pain, I started scanning for gratitude.
Every morning since, before my feet touch the floor, I say “Thank you”
Thank you, body, for being resilient.
Thank you, spirit, for not giving up on me.
Thank you for healing in ways science still can’t quite explain.
And here’s the crazy part: that daily ritual has kept me pain-free for almost five years. Sure, I still have days where I feel a little achy , usually from an intense workout or a long day on my feet… but that deep, chronic inflammation that once ruled my life? Gone. Gratitude rewired my nervous system more powerfully than any supplement or prescription ever did.
That moment became the foundation for everything I create now .
When we talk about beauty, we often forget that it starts long before the mirror. Gratitude softens your face. It changes your posture, your tone, your energy. It quiets the inner critic and lets your natural vitality surface. When your body feels safe, it lets your light back in , and that’s what people really see when they call you “glowing.”
So, if you’re reading this and you’ve been fighting your body… trying to fix, force, or numb it, I get it. I lived there for two decades. But healing doesn’t always start with doing more. Sometimes it starts with a simple “thank you.”
Thank you for surviving. Thank you for adapting. Thank you for trying again today.
Because beauty isn’t built on perfection. It’s built on peace.
And peace begins with gratitude.
Connect With Jaime
IG: @heymaryjaneofficial
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