By Danial Chamberlain; POSTED: January 2023 

Through Facebook I found FAC, I read some stories, asked about FACes of Fibro, I sent in a pic of myself with one of my scaly friends named August. He is a fancy python, but what does a python have to do with Fibro? I am a proud father of 3, husband to an amazing supportive wife and we have a small “zoo” in my house consisting of a Beagle Terrier named Dax, 2 Bengal cats (Priya and Neo), they’re step siblings, same father different mothers, and last but not least 2 pythons, August and Lilith. August is the youngest, but I’ve had him longer, Lilith, Lillybug or just Lilly is an Orange Dream Enchi python, she is about 2 months older than August. I am going to talk mainly about my snakes and how they help me stay in the moment, help me stay mindful, provide me with an escape from daily stress and help with my pain management. A little about me, I have had chronic mechanical back pain since an injury in 2010, currently now in 2023, it’s been 5 years since being diagnosed with FMS as well as a few other things that the rigorous testing I had to go through to finally have an answer for why my body was revolting against me, Fibro is a disability of exclusion afterall, with no cure only management, it’s a life that I am sure no one would wish upon anyone else.

This past fall, I took an MBSR course that I had been waiting over a year to get into. MBSR for those unfamiliar with that acronym, it is Mindfulness Breathing Stress Reduction, we all have stress, for people with Fibro too much stress increases pain, inflammation, mental distress and more. Little did I know at the beginning just how much I needed this program and how much of an impact on my life it would make. At the very least I thought I would just have another tool for my mental tool box, wow, it was such a great program. It is recommended that you also have a therapist or be in some sort of counseling to help unpack anything that might come up during meditation or other activities. This is not a therapy group, we never really talked about “our issues,” we were all there learning from each other and being guided by a fantastic mindfulness coach. I highly recommend her, with a Dr referral it is covered by OHIP, it lasted 10 weeks I think. During that time I finally learned and saw that there were others like me. There were 4 men in my group, not sure if they had fibro, but the common thing was we all were in pain, we all suffered from some form of chronic pain. Part of the program is mindful activities, you’re asked to pick something and truly be in that moment, mindful of everything, take in textures, feelings, tastes, smells, explore where they all take you, but stay in the moment, the here and now. August and Lilith were the things that clicked with that exercise, they are fascinating, each and every scale is different, they way they use muscles to move, the way they look at you, flicking their tongues differently means different things, watching their eyes move as they constantly are looking for threats to them, I am no threat and they know that.

I know snakes, lizards, turtles and other scaly or slimy things can gross people out, and that some people actually have a phobia of things in the reptile world. I only have snakes, two at the time of writing this, I would welcome another snake in a second. So, back to how using mindfulness and snakes has become a go to for anxiety or stress management. Throughout the MBSR course we have varied weekly homework and mindful practices to explore. I used brushing my teeth several times, some tried eating an entire meal while being mindful (that takes like 45 minutes) , others tried walking in a park, and various other things. I found one day while tending to August, he was being fairly active that day roaming around my arms and through my fingers, I put him on my shoulders and carried on with looking at his habitat. I usually check each snake in the morning and evening to make sure there’s no cleaning required in their homes. This day was different, I started to notice things about him that previously I didn’t pay much attention to, then it clicked, could I use him or any of my animals for a mindful practice? So I spent a good 15 minutes, feeling him constrict around my neck as he rubbed against my stubble, how he could move any muscle all the way to his little nub of a tail. How effortlessly he could quickly move from hand to hand, the slight tightness of his grip, usually a snake will “hook” their tail onto something, that gives them a sense of security from falling and/or being dragged away, they use that anchor as a way back, and they can quickly return to safety. Continuing with that day, I kind of went off on a tangent there, but it also lends credit to what I am talking about, the things noticed during that morning session almost exploded my brain, something clicked and I just went with it. I felt every scale I could, touched the soft jelly like lumps on his head, noticed how pink the inside of his heat pits were, I watched his belly as he traveled around noticing the little dark spots, yellow spots and sheer size of the scales compared to his upper scales. I also noticed that the middle section of scales are so much like a fish scale, rounded and curved, I could almost imagine what a fish would look like with those scales.

Did you know a snake has literally 2 seconds, 2 seconds of attention to decide “do I eat that or not”? Their primitive brain, one that has been around for thousands of years, hasn’t changed much. Although I tend to believe that they learn quickly in captivity who they can trust and who is familiar, like many other animals, they also have that sensory ability to know the emotional state a person or thing coming to them has. They are more knowledgeable than we are led to believe, just in my opinion, science is a better place to look, it could just be me applying human characteristics of emotion to a creature that simply doesn’t have it. Nonetheless, the grounding, calmness and overall sensations of handling either August or Lilith during the last year was enlightening, it went from just general care and husbandry to presently being a huge part of my daily mindful activities.

It can also work with cats, we have two Bengal cats, each with their own personality and ability to stand the human attention given to them while being mindful of each paw, claw, whiskers, ears and how the fur changes from belly to the soft velvet like inner ear fur, the nudges they do to get more scratching or petting. I think for most, especially people who do not like snakes or other reptiles (be careful if buying, some species are more docile than others), a dog or puppy can be the easiest animal to practice mindfulness, they are loyal, they crave love, they want more than we often want to give, most dogs would be at your side always, they crave affection, they need praise and adoration.

To sum it up, taking the MBSR program taught me so much about my fears of never seeing or meeting people like me. Meeting people in similar situations actually set my mind at ease, especially seeing the other men in the class, men are the least diagnosed FMS patients, partially of the tough guy factor, partially from upbringing and partially societal norms. Regardless of your gender, make sure you have a good medical team supporting you, a family that “understands” you’re dealing with a lot of things emotionally, physically and mentally. Also be kind, remember how you would be towards another person suffering, it would be difficult to say that anyone reading this would be the type to stop and talk, if anything, FMS has made me a much more charitable, kinder and understanding person that wants change for us all, anything that helps is worth a try!

Here is the link to the company and info, last I checked, the site was being built and only has a contact us section. But leave your email and stay updated on upcoming sessions and forms needed. https://mindfulnessswo.ca/