Diffusing Pain

19:51

19:51

Diffusing Pain

by Adele Stewart

Rated

5

Type

guided

Activity

Meditation

Suitable for

Everyone

Plays

7

Inspired by Les Fehmi's open focus practices, this meditation encourages us to move away from a rigid, narrow focus to a wide open focus (which we tend to have when our nervous system is in threat mode) by practicing awareness of “space” both outside and inside our bodies. Physical pain can be gently brought into and diffused into this space. Let go of striving and just gently follow the words. Like anything, this is a skill that improves with practice.

Pain Management Body Awareness Breath Awareness Tinnitus Mindfulness Acceptance

Meet your Teacher

Woonona NSW 2517, Australia

Meet your Teacher

Woonona NSW 2517, Australia

Transcript

Diffusing pain. So let's begin by settling into a comfortable position. Sitting, Lying down, Standing, However your body feels most supported. Allowing the body to be held by the chair, Cushion or floor beneath you. Nothing you need to do right now. If it feels okay letting the eyes close or softening the gaze. Letting the breath move naturally in its own rhythm. There's nothing to fix, Nothing to force. Can you imagine allowing the experience of the body to unfold? Can you imagine also allowing thoughts and emotions and sound to all coexist? Can you imagine sensing the space that the room around you occupies? Without needing to look around, Sensing the openness in the room. The volume of space around your body. Can you imagine sensing the space your body occupies within that room? And at the same time can you imagine sensing the space around your body? The space above you, Below you, In front, Behind and to the sides. Can you imagine experiencing the body not only as a solid form but also as something existing within space? Surrounded by space and even permeated by space. All space including our body is made up of atoms which have the tiniest amount of solid matter and thousands and thousands more parts that are space. Letting awareness soften and widen. Now gently noticing the place in your body that is calling to you right now. This might be something you usually call pain, Physical discomfort or it could be something more subtle. It could be an emotional discomfort, A sense of fatigue or heaviness in the body. A sound like tinnitus or a movement like vertigo or restless legs. No need to analyse it or change it. Can you imagine letting it be part of your awareness? And can you imagine treating the most intense area of discomfort as the area of discomfort that we'll be exploring for the next little while? Can you imagine sensing its shape, Its length, Its width, Its thickness, The three-dimensional space it might occupy in your body? No need to be precise. Just sensing or imagining. Whatever feels natural. As you remain aware of the space inside and outside your body, Can you imagine sensing the space the area of discomfort occupies as well? Can you imagine sensing the space between the area of discomfort and the rest of your body? The space between the area of discomfort and the sides of your body. The space between the area and the top of your head. The space between the area and the soles of your feet. Can you imagine sensing the space between the area of discomfort and the front of the body? And the back of the body. Allowing the area to be experienced within a wider field of space. Now gently widening awareness even further. Can you imagine sensing the space between the area of discomfort and various other areas in your body? Can you imagine sensing the space between the area of discomfort and the space inside your body? And the space between the area and the space inside your head. And the space between the area and the space inside your mouth and cheeks. The space between the area and the space inside your throat and neck. And the space your chest occupies. Your abdomen. Your spine. Can you imagine sensing the space between the area of discomfort and your arms? Your hands and fingers. Your legs. Your feet and toes. Can you imagine letting your awareness include the whole body as a spacious field of sensations? Including the area of discomfort in this spacious field. As the breath moves naturally in and out, Can you imagine that the breath passes through the space occupied by the area of discomfort? Can you imagine the breath perhaps gently touching the area of discomfort? Moving through the area. Moving around it. Or simply coexisting with it. There is nothing you need to do with the area. Just allowing it to exist in this wider field of space. Now you might notice different ways you pay attention. Sometimes attention becomes more narrow, Gently resting in the most intense part of the sensation. And sometimes attention widens, Including the surrounding space, The rest of the body. The room around you. Can you imagine letting attention move easily between these two ways? Sometimes gently touching the centre of the sensation. And sometimes widening into the spacious field around it. Can you allow your awareness to widen into this larger space? Can you imagine the sensation in the area of discomfort beginning to soften or diffuse? Or even dissolve? No forcing or striving. Just allowing the possibility that sensations may spread, Change, Shift, Move within the space of awareness. Perhaps the boundaries of the area soften. Perhaps the edges become less defined. Can you imagine the sensation of the area diffusing into the space around it? You might also imagine that the boundaries of the body are becoming softer. The space inside the body and the space outside the body feel less separate. Can you imagine that sensations, Space and awareness are all part of one continuous field? Discomfort or unpleasantness may still be present. And perhaps it exists now within a much larger landscape of experience. Allowing awareness now to rest in this wider, Open field. Nothing to achieve. Nothing to change. Space, Sensation, Breath, Emotions, Sound, Thoughts, All included. Nothing to achieve. Just resting in the openness of awareness. If discomfort remains, It can remain. And if sensations shift or soften, That's welcome too. Everything allowed in this vast field. For the last few moments, Simply noticing whatever is here. The body, The breath, The space of the room. Perhaps sensing the body once again resting in space. And when you feel ready, Gently inviting small movements into the fingers or toes. Perhaps rolling the shoulders or having a stretch. And when it feels natural, Letting the eyes open. Thank you.