This is Ish and today I'll be talking to you about how to meditate through pain.
And the first part will be just a brief introduction and then the second part will be a guided meditation.
So this is quite an interesting topic because typically when things are going well our meditation feels lighter and lighter and we don't oftentimes know how to handle some more stressful situations that come up and I find that physical pain as opposed to mental pain can be almost a more challenging aspect to some people and this can actually be a great opportunity for you to to grow spiritually because you don't really grow too well in your spiritual practice when everything is easy so you really need to work on the difficulties as well.
And I had this instant you know just a couple of weeks ago where my cat bit me and my hand got all infected and I just had this really deep throbbing pain where I couldn't continue my meditation and this allowed me an opportunity for me to grow deeper into my practice and actually work with that.
And the first thing you want to do is just acknowledge the pain when it comes up so acknowledging just to acknowledge your brain and just say okay I feel this but one thing you want to do deeper more is to go deeper into the sensations so if you really go deeper into the awareness you'll notice that there are some sensations associated with that pain and this include could include some throbbing sensations or a pulsing sensation or maybe a dull ache or uneasiness and you can kind of notice the tactile sensations in the area that's afflicted and this can actually be a great gateway point into your meditation into mindfulness meditation.
And just overall mindful meditation has been shown just in clinical trials to reduce chronic pain by 57% by just a regular practitioners beginners even and then in more accomplished meditation meditators they can actually reduce their chronic pain by 90% so you can really see that meditation can help deal with any kind of pain in addition to whatever you're doing already and can be a great tool so let's go ahead and get started into this guided meditation when you're ready so find a comfortable seat and take a moment and close your eyes first feel the overall space of the body imagine you can feel the edges where your skin starts and ends and then now as you go deeper start to locate the point in which you feel pain start to first pinpoint the exact location in your body and now start to notice the sensations in that area as you go deeper into the sensation notice the tactile sensations in this body part you feel a throbbing sensation or a pulsing sensation coldness or heat just keeping attention to this you you and as you go deeper start to see where this sensation spreads to you is there an exact spot in your body where the sensation starts and ends And what part of your healthy body parts start and end and come into contact with this painful area?
You're mapating,
Guiding the form,
Idling And then for a moment,
Focus on the area in your body where you feel okay and unharmed.
Maybe it's the opposite hand,
Foot,
Shoulder even.
Just notice the well body part.
Now that feels like in your body.
Just notice the sensations associated with this part.
Maybe a lot different from the tactile sensations that you felt in the painful fluted area.
Once you have a good understanding of what this body part or this healed area feels like,
Try to see if you can now bring the same sensations and try to feel that particular sensation onto your inflicted area.
So if you felt coolness in the body part that's well,
Try to see if you can feel the coolness in the afflicted area.
And if your mind keeps bringing up the painful sensations,
Just acknowledge it as what it is and direct your focus back onto the pleasant area.
Again,
Try to bring that pleasant sensations onto the painful area.
And as you go deeper,
Start to notice that there isn't a difference between the painful area and the area that's okay.
The gap or differences slowly start to disappear.
Now just take a few more moments here.
Feeling the inner sensations in the body fully and wholly.
And before we end this session here,
Just think,
Repeat the mantras in your head.
May I be happy.
May I be free from suffering.
May I be well.
So it's may I be happy.
May I be free from suffering and may I be well.
And extend this feeling to yourself and to people,
Other people that are suffering at this time.
Spreading your compassion.
And then on your next exhale,
You can slowly open your eyes and go about your day with full vibrancy and vigor.
Thank you.
