Hi,
I'm Jessica Graham,
And I'm going to take you through a guided meditation to help you get some relief from the pain of fibromyalgia.
Start by sitting comfortably or lying down.
Make sure your posture is very supportive to your body.
I want you to be as comfortable as possible.
Then you can close your eyes.
Just take a moment to invite the body to relax as much as possible.
I know there will be some areas of tension that won't want to relax and release,
And that is okay.
Just relax wherever you can and enjoy that relaxation.
Don't get too worried about the areas that won't relax.
Just focus on what does relax.
Relax and let go.
One of the symptoms of fibromyalgia is widespread pain all over the body.
There can be areas of extreme tension and areas of extreme tenderness,
And it can become very overwhelming when you're in the midst of a flare-up.
Sometimes it can feel as if there's lava running under your skin,
Burning your body.
The first thing I suggest for folks who are dealing with this kind of pain is to take a moment to focus outward.
When we're experiencing physical pain,
We can get very tangled up in the pain and the thoughts about the pain and the emotions regarding the pain.
And this can make it seem all the more overwhelming.
So focusing out into sounds and sights of your environment can help take the emphasis off the pain,
The thoughts about the pain,
The emotions about the pain.
It can help you feel less overwhelmed.
So let's try that now.
You can begin by just extending your attention out into sound.
One sound is the sound of my voice.
There also might be sounds in your home,
People in another room doing things,
Maybe the sounds of electronics or the hum of a refrigerator.
You might also be aware of the sound of your own breath.
Depending on how noisy your environment is,
There might be noises outside of the house,
Cars going by,
Dogs barking,
Wind chimes,
An airplane or a helicopter overhead.
Extend your attention out into sound.
Let go of the story of the sound and just hear it.
Whenever you're pulled into thought,
Emotion or physical discomfort,
Point your attention back out into sound.
Give in to the tapestry of sounds.
Really hear them.
This doesn't mean we're ignoring or trying to get rid of any of the physical discomfort,
Thoughts or emotions.
Instead,
We're just choosing to put our attention elsewhere for the time being.
Staying with sound.
Really listening.
You may now wish to open your eyes and begin to notice the sights of your environment.
Notice the colors and shapes in the room.
Allow the sights to move in just like the sounds,
Arising and passing.
Anytime you get pulled into discomfort,
Thought or emotion,
Point your attention back out into sights and sounds.
Okay.
Now,
Continuing to keep a majority of your attention on sight and sound,
I want you to begin to visualize gathering the pain together.
Gathering any pain from your head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Torso,
Legs or feet.
Gathering it up and putting it into a cushioned container.
All of the pain flowing in to this cushioned container.
Now that you have your pain gathered in a cushioned container,
I'd like you to start to offer love and compassion to your pain.
Even though it's uncomfortable to be in pain,
We don't want to resist and send hateful thoughts to the pain because that just makes it worse.
Instead,
Cultivate a sense of love,
Kindness and compassion for your pain.
At the same time,
By putting the pain in the cushioned container,
You're creating a buffer for yourself so that the pain is less raw,
Less overwhelming.
We're just putting it to the side.
Any time another arising of pain occurs,
Simply place it into that cushioned container and offer it love,
Kindness and compassion.
When it feels as though the pain is contained in a loving,
Compassionate,
Cushioned container,
You can point your attention back out into sounds and sights.
Again,
We're not attempting to resist or even ignore the pain.
We're simply choosing to place our attention elsewhere while giving the pain a lot of support and containment.
You are not your pain.
You are not your illness.
You are actually vast,
Mysterious and limitless.
Fibromyalgia is like one small wave and you are an infinite ocean.
Okay,
If your eyes are closed,
You can go ahead and open them.
You've done great work.
You now have two tools to use when you're experiencing a fibromyalgia flare-up.
One is focusing out,
Focusing on sounds and sights.
And if there's not too much pain in your feet,
Perhaps focusing on the sensation of your feet on the ground.
Your second tool is to lovingly and with kindness and compassion,
Place your pain in a cushioned container and set it to the side.
I wish you wellness.
