Hello and welcome to this mind the pain mindfulness meditation aimed at reducing the stress,
Pain,
And anxiety from endometriosis.
I want to start with a really great quote that I heard from a psychologist or probably saw in an instagram post,
I can't remember,
But the quote is that the body expresses what the mind suppresses.
Chronic pain or chronic conditions in general thrive when our emotions are suppressed.
This can manifest inflammation and create tension in the body,
Making it easy for pain to flourish.
That's why it's important that we work to heal our nervous system,
Even with just small daily habits that prioritize our safety.
You being here is an amazing step to making that happen.
Because you have endometriosis,
You're battling a wealth of emotions from the stress,
Pain,
And anxiety.
This causes an awful cycle where you're enduring the mental impacts of the condition,
Which in turn creates pain flare-ups.
The pain flare-ups create stress and exhaustion,
And round and round we go.
Us endo warriors truly endure so much.
Maybe today has been harder for you.
Maybe you're feeling extra pain or anxiety,
Or maybe you're feeling fatigued,
Disassociated,
Or just frozen.
If so,
I'm so sorry it hasn't been a great day,
But we'll work together now to make it better.
Or maybe you're feeling good today.
In that case,
That's great.
You'll still benefit from this meditation.
I promise.
So for this meditation,
I just want us to get comfortable either sitting or lying down.
And only if you feel comfortable,
We're going to work together to try to release any emotions we can feel in the body.
You can do this any way you prefer,
But for reasons I'll provide for my deep,
Deep misunderstanding of science later,
Crying is really the best release.
Now closing your eyes,
I want us to start by taking two big,
Deep belly breaths in.
So inhale,
Hold for three,
And exhale.
And one more time,
Inhaling and exhaling.
Now just keep that pace going as we take a little trip.
So we'll begin by imagining you're at the beach.
Yas.
And if you're not a beach person,
Just imagine it's one of those secluded European beaches all the stars go to on their expensive yachts with bright white sand and no people.
It's just you here.
No one to bother or distract you,
Except maybe Leo DiCaprio,
But we'll just ignore him.
If you were born after the year 2000 and don't know who Leo DiCaprio is,
He was in the massive,
Massive 1998 blockbuster hit Man in the Iron Mask.
Great film.
Now feeling the warm air and sun on your face,
Let's start walking slowly to the calm waves.
Feeling the sand scrunch beneath your toes,
I want you to feel the tepid water,
The ocean on your feet.
Let's just keep walking more and more into the water until we're waist deep.
Now it's unclear why,
But there's a beach ball floating next to you.
Doesn't make much sense since no one is around,
Although it is a beach and it could be Leo's.
Very fun.
But I want you to hold the beach ball and just take a look around you in the water underneath.
It's looking nice and clear,
Very blue,
Some nemo clown fishies swimming around you.
Holding the beach ball,
I want you to start pushing it below the water with both of your hands,
Pressing it harder and harder until it's completely below the surface.
Even with just imagining it,
You're probably struggling to hold it below the water's surface.
Hands are likely slipping from the sides.
It's pushing harder and harder and harder against your hands until it finally pops above the surface.
Now the reason I brought us all the way to the beach today is the long-winded beach ball metaphor is meant to symbolize your body's ability to hold an emotions.
We can try to push them deep below the surface as much as we want,
But eventually the body,
Or in this case physics,
Will force us to release the ball and our emotions.
This is another way it helps us release tension and keeps us safe.
Quite simply,
Holding onto these emotions causes pain.
And with that in mind,
Keeping the eyes closed,
Keeping the deep breaths going,
I want you to feel safe to let out any emotions you're feeling.
As mentioned earlier,
Crying in particular is very healing.
It improves mood,
Dulls pain,
And most importantly,
It restores our emotional balance.
So just think of everything you want to release and let go of.
The pain,
The unfairness,
Your struggles,
The fatigue,
Fear,
The worries,
All of it.
Feel comfortable here to release those emotions however you feel safest.
Cry for all the things that don't make sense in your body right now and how hard this condition can be.
It's truly unfair and sometimes we can feel so alone in this struggle.
And if crying isn't where your body feels safe right now,
That's okay.
We're just going to gently release the emotions other ways in the body.
We'll start by gently shaking the arms out for a few seconds.
Great.
Really well done.
Now let's give the legs a shake,
Letting it out however you want.
There's no wrong way of doing it unless you throw your back out,
So please just don't.
Don't do that.
We just want the body to feel some release any way possible.
Just keep breathing in nice and deep.
Now let's leave the beach and this meditation and Leo by taking one big deep belly breath in and out.
Hopefully you're feeling a bit lighter and calmer.
Just take the next few minutes very slowly as your body begins to regulate again.
Grab a glass of water,
Watch some Netflix,
Or go for a short walk.
There's no wrong answer.
I want to thank you for being here today and prioritizing your mental and physical health.
Your body,
Brain,
Leo,
And I all thank you.
Go on friend,
You've got this.
