Sitting With Pain And Sickness

Hello and welcome to my Insight Timer meditation page.

My name is Kimberly Johnson.

Today we are going to be meditating on sickness.

So after however long it's been since COVID has been around,

I have gotten COVID and I still currently have it.

And as I've been sitting with COVID,

I realized just how important it is to learn to be with both sickness and the pain that comes with sickness.

So whatever you have going on,

Whether it's you have COVID,

Whether it's you are sick with chronic pain,

Whether you're sick with cancer,

Whether you're sick with IBS,

You know,

Whatever it might be.

I want this meditation to be a refuge,

A place to return to whenever you're feeling able to sit with sickness,

To sit with the pain that sickness evokes.

So we're going to just start by you letting the body settle.

And I want to really suggest that if you are sick and you are in pain right now to just get as comfortable as you need to.

So if that means lying down,

That means sitting in a chair,

Whatever that means,

Really listening and taking care of yourself so that you can access the meditation.

I think such a huge part of being with sickness and being with pain is doing it compassionately.

So just allowing yourself to get as comfortable as you need to be doing some maybe small movements,

Some shaking,

Some jiggling of the body to get to a place where you can be still.

And as you find that stillness,

Maybe you will shut the eyes down.

If shutting the eyes down doesn't feel good,

You can always keep them with a light gaze or hover at the floor or the wall or the ceiling.

And then right here just beginning to just let go of any tension that you might feel maybe tension in the face.

Noticing the eyebrows,

The forehead,

The cheeks,

The jawline.

Knowing that your body might re-pick up the tension,

But that that's okay.

The practice is the letting go of it.

When you notice it's there.

Constant practice.

Moving to your shoulders,

Letting go of any tension being held in the shoulders.

Moving down the spine and entering into the belly and letting go of any tension in the belly.

And then letting the hips get heavy.

And then letting the legs and the feet just relax.

And really giving yourself permission to be here.

The mind will try to draw you to what you're doing after this or the mind will try to draw you to what you did before this.

And knowing that that's normal.

And then giving yourself permission to just keep returning to my voice and to your body and to your experience.

And keep letting the body relax.

And then just bring the attention and the awareness right to the breath.

Sometimes if you're lying down or you're in a more comfortable position,

It can be easier to locate the breath at the belly or the chest.

Or you can always go to the nostrils.

And just take some deep breaths.

Inhaling.

Noticing how the body expands out as you inhale and then exhaling.

Noticing how the body contracts and returns to itself when you exhale.

And just kind of let the power of deep breaths begin to kind of create a meditation.

Create a rhythm that you're paying attention to.

Creates a job,

A healthy job for the mind.

Maybe take one more deep breath.

And this time let it out real slowly.

And maybe even push out more air than you feel like you have.

And then just let your breath go normal.

And right here as the breath goes normal,

I want you to just bring your mind to your sickness or your pain.

And just let the mind think about it.

And notice what you're saying.

Notice what your thoughts are or what the storyline is around it.

And see if you can be really gentle and not judge.

But just be curious of what is actually here in the mind when you bring up the sickness or the pain.

And see right now where you feel sensations most in the body.

It might be maybe a discomfort in the body or it might be a pain in the body.

And just bring your attention right there.

And I want you to just notice what the sensation is like.

Is it tingly?

Is it sharp?

Is it dull?

Is it intense?

And I want you to just sit with the sensation.

Being curious about it.

Noticing how it's kind of constantly changing,

Ebbing and flowing.

Getting more intense,

Getting less intense.

Changing the way it feels.

Changing where it's located.

Really paying attention to the intricacies that each moment this sensation brings.

And right here,

I want you to just ask yourself,

Can I let this be here?

Can I sit through the waves of this?

Can I let this be here just as it is without wanting to change it,

Without judging myself,

Without judging it?

And really let your body relax as you continue to ask,

Can I let this be here?

And just keep your attention right at the sensations in the body.

Okay.

If your mind has wandered,

Knowing that that's normal.

The practice of being with sickness and pain is sometimes uncomfortable,

And the brain and the mind likes to distract.

No problem.

Just see if you can continuously notice where your mind is,

And then gently bring it back.

Like grabbing the hand of someone you love,

Grabbing your attention and putting it right back at the body sensations.

And just gently whispering,

Can I let this be here?

Can I let this be here just as it is?

And maybe if it feels good,

Placing a hand on the area that you feel the most sensation.

And just feel your own touch.

Feel your own offering of support.

And continue to ask,

Can I let this be here?

No more running from it,

Distracting.

Can I for this short amount of time,

Be with it in a loving,

Kind way?

Notice where your mind is.

And notice where your body sensations are.

Maybe they've changed.

Gently grab hold of your attention and gently guide it back to wherever you're feeling sensation most.

Can I let this be here?

Now right here,

I want you to ask yourself,

What do I need to hear most right now?

What am I longing to hear most right now?

And whisper it to yourself.

Say it like you mean it.

Give yourself the thing that you're longing for.

And wherever you are,

Maybe just holding yourself a little bit tighter that could include moving both arms to grab hold of your shoulders or putting one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly.

Just right here.

Being with yourself.

Knowing how courageous you are for practicing sitting with discomfort.

Knowing how courageous you are to sit with sickness and pain.

These are two things in this life that we can't ever get away from.

We will have pain,

And we will have sickness.

It is part of being in the human body experience.

And every time we practice sitting with it.

We practice honoring the human experience.

We practice being with the tough stuff.

We practice expanding our ability to be with life.

Taking one more deep breath.

And I'll ring the bell three times to pull us out of meditation.

.

.

Knowing that at any time you can come back to this meditation,

Whether you're pushing play or you're just pausing to ask yourself,

Can I let this be here?

And what do I need to hear most?