Originally posted by Buddy
Re: pain, it's temporary, although a bitc,h. If after a few months you can stand for 20-40 minutes and you still fell pain, you're doing it wrong. You're simply not being taught how to properly relax the body/mind.
I suspected as much. Unfortunately it has been extremly difficult to find a teacher skilled enough to point me in the right direction. So much dilution, so many willing to claim mastery after learning a form...

I'd still be doing IMA if top quality teachers were available in my area. As it turned, I went with the only truly good teacher I could find, and he happens to be an Aikidoka.