Working With Physical Pain/Tension As A Spiritual Practice

This is a meditation and a process designed to support you in connecting more deeply with the energetics and the messages that physical pain that you might be experiencing in your body has for you.

I really believe that our bodies are messengers in many ways.

They're always communicating with us whether it's through pleasure,

Goosebumps,

Cranks,

Cracks,

Intense pain,

Muscle tightness,

Like pulsing.

Everything is a form of communication and our bodies hold a really really deep intelligence.

To me they are our access point and our connection to the divine.

They are the vessels through which our soul communicates to us and as we start to become more sensitive physically we often begin to feel more sensations.

We begin to actually feel the sensitivities of our bodies in a way that we maybe previously haven't and sometimes that sensitivity comes in the form of pain or chronic pain.

And so something I do with my clients when we work together one-on-one is a process that actually follows the intelligence and connects deeper with any physical pain that they're experiencing.

And this is a really powerful experience because usually when we're in physical pain there is this really deep sense of perhaps victimization,

Weakness,

Frustration.

We can often demonize our bodies for the pain that we're experiencing because our bodies aren't working the way that we should think that they should or our bodies can't do the things that our mind says we should be able to do.

And so in that there actually becomes a deeper separation,

Right?

You can imagine it as if there's this little child in you who's like calling for your attention and her calling for your attention becomes annoying and so that you just push her away even further.

What's she gonna do?

Get louder.

Or maybe we pacify her,

Maybe we give her a candy,

Maybe we just say shush shush shush which you know when it comes to the body is often how we numb out or we take a medication you know we have a headache we just take an Advil or we take something to manage the pain.

Well what's gonna happen is that's gonna come back around either in the same way later or in a different Avenue to get our attention.

And so it can actually be a really big gift when we're aware of our body's pain.

When we numb it it's almost like we're taking away a layer of intelligence that can guide us to a deeper place of soul expression and alignment.

And sometimes it's just stubborn as hell and our ego hates it but it's actually such a gift to have that nagging thing that's saying slow down,

Pay attention to me,

I have something for you.

And so we're gonna go through a meditation process that sort of shifts the perspective that you might have with your physical pain to you know having it move away from this annoyance or this demonization that you have to your body to actually starting to see the value that's there and bridging the gap,

Bridging the relationship,

Trusting each other and allowing your body to communicate the truth.

So this meditation can be done lying down,

It can also be done seated,

And at any point if your body wants to move naturally to kind of allow the energy to move,

Feel free to allow your body to do that.

So sometimes seated is a little bit better because you have a bit more range of motion,

You can kind of move your torso,

Your shoulders,

You can allow the body to soften into and be guided by any sensation.

But you can also do this on the ground as well so this is totally up to you.

So get into a comfortable position and once you're ready just close your eyes and just start to tune into your breath.

You don't even need to deepen it but just really allow yourself to pay attention to it,

To bring your attention to it,

To bring your awareness to the thing that your body does automatically to bring you life without you ever asking for it.

And really let yourself receive the truth of that.

You know if any part of you has been hating on your body or frustrated with your body,

Just in this moment can you actually receive with gratitude that amongst everything that feels like it's not working,

You're breathing,

Your heart is beating,

And none of those things require your active mind,

They don't require your intention,

They don't require you to do anything at all.

And that's the level of support that you have from your body from the minute you entered this world.

It's been there for you even in the times that you've thought it hasn't.

And even right now your ego may not like that.

It might fight to be right about the times that it's failed.

And so if you just notice any of that chatter,

Just take a deeper breath and just see before this moment you can allow yourself to be grateful for your breath,

For your heartbeat,

For your body,

Just opening yourself just a little bit more to receive that.

And allow yourself to feel just that like extra little clunking of here-ness with your body,

Like okay we are here together for this journey of life but also for this process.

We are here.

Hi.

You know it's like a first date.

You're here.

I'm here.

Let's see what's here between us.

So just taking a full deep breath in to really feel that clunk in and really filling up your lungs here.

Feeling your body expand into that tightness and then letting it go even with a sigh or a noise.

We're here.

And together you're going to tune in to any part of your body that you're experiencing pain.

Now if you're experiencing pain or tightness in multiple places we're just gonna work with one right now.

So choose one.

Just bring your awareness there and I want you to in your mind's eye really kind of allow that pain to have a bit of a shape.

Maybe it's a feel,

A color,

A density.

You just imagine it alive in your body.

Maybe it's a tight black little knot.

Maybe it's bigger.

Maybe it's fiery and hot.

Like really starting to tune in to the different sensations around that pain.

Like what does it actually feel like?

Like taking now away the word pain and just going what does this feel like and allowing an image of it to be created in your mind's eye.

Is it warm?

Tingly?

Hot?

Cold?

Piercing?

Throbbing?

Is it thick?

Dense?

Cloudy?

Or hard?

And if you want to let your body just gently sway or move to kind of allow that feeling and the sensations to fill your mind's eye you have total permission to do that.

And as you start to become familiar with the sensation both visually and from a felt sense I want you to first just give that sensation that spot permission to soften a little bit.

It may not want to and that's okay.

Just a little permission to soften.

Maybe just spread out a little bit and see if you can just your breath and love give it some space to just soften just a little bit and then really beginning to allow yourself to create space in your body here to hold that sensation more fully.

So you're actually gonna let it grow.

You're gonna say that you can move.

You can grow.

You have space in here right now.

So whether it moves to a new part of your body or you gently visualize it spreading out or moving different parts of your body just allow it to do whatever it wants to do when you say that it's okay.

It's not wrong.

And if at any point you feel the urge or the call to make noise or sound even if it's a scream or if it's a grunt or if it's a moan full permission because that sensation may want to animate your body in a bigger way.

Sometimes we have energy that's pushed and locked and lodged in a spot that really just needs some permission to move and some part of us has made it too big or too scary or too much and so now it just has some permission to move and when energy moves maybe you're sweating a little bit maybe your body is moving maybe your breath feels different maybe you're making sound sighs screams maybe it's helping it move.

There is no rigid right way to be with energy and so just now even checking in as you've kind of given it that permission how does it feel what does it actually feel like now is it different is it hotter colder bigger harder softer smaller tighter sharper gloopier more dispersed lighter just meet it again for the first time with fresh eyes fresh body and you're gonna give it permission to move one more time to do whatever it needs to do with full love here doesn't mean you have to like it but you can love it you can say it's okay I can hold you and your body may move you in the way that you need to move to start to actually adjust this sensation and how it feels in the physical body so let it let the body move let your breath move it let sound move it if there's a motion make sure you're letting that come out this is a reclamation of permission for your body to be as it wants to right now everything goes and as you're with this energy now in this new way you're gonna ask this energy what it is you need to know what does it want to say there may be one sentence one word ask it what is your message for me and just let it be exactly as it is and receive it and as you receive it I want you to allow your system to amplify that message to fully receive it in all parts of your body here so if the message is you know I'm tired I need you or maybe you're enough or I'm angry whatever the message is let that fill your whole body and feel your body come alive with that message without your mind having to do anything what does it mean what do I do how do I act on it just let the chatter go and just let yourselves receive that message breathe with it move with it now thank the energy for the message thank it appreciate it let yourself feel gratitude for it and take a couple of breaths here and just begin to check in again on how your body feels just doing sort of a full scan with no judgment just to check in what's changed what's maybe the same and just allow yourself to be here with what is and let yourself in this state in this stillness for a few moments before bringing yourself back into the room