Coping With Pain Using Meditation

We all hurt at one time or another but some have ongoing pain they can’t control and feel like a prisoner in their aching body.

There are many reasons we hurt and if you don’t know the reason you should have a full physical to find the cause.

This technique works well with Fibromyalgia, arthritis and chronic back pain patients. Taking strong pain medicine has undesirable side effects that can cause even more problems. Using this method can reduce the amount of drugs you put in your body and some people are able to do without drugs altogether.

How to use your mind to take away the pain.

The mind is a powerful tool--- it can heal us and take away our misery. Doctors don’t completely understand how it works they just know that it does.

Using meditation, you think about something other than what is happening and redirect your mind to something more pleasant. It’s how some can walk on hot coals or a bed of nails. It’s mind over matter.

Meditation is holistic medicine. Some will find they have no pain while others will have their discomfort greatly reduced. When we meditate, activity increases in the area of the brain where cognitive control and emotion happens.

Focus on a happy place; somewhere peaceful you can go to escape your body. Breathe slow and rhythmically keeping your mind centered.

A beach, a forest, the mountains, flying, wherever you find solace can be your zen place. Revisit a spot you’ve been on vacation or anywhere you’ve felt at peace. Everyone is different and we all have a location that helps us feel calm and serene.

Use music to help you focus.

Some people like soothing music to help them meditate. Make sure it’s something slow and preferably without lyrics. There are many selections you can buy. You can find some free on YouTube or other websites. Nature sounds, orchestra or rain are good choices.

Relax your body.

You must first focus on relaxing your muscles. Start at the top of your head and go over your body being mindful of each part making sure they are all completely relaxed.

Everything is connected; tensing your legs can cause pain in your back so even if you have your back completely loosened you may still feel discomfort so make sure you calm every part of your body.

You can do this anywhere you are, sitting in a chair or laying on your bed. You don’t have to sit cross-legged on the floor to meditate.

You can do this in a doctor’s office or during a painful procedure.

I’ve often done this in the dentist or gynecologist office. It works best if you don’t have a chatty physician but some like to talk trying to help take your mind off the procedure when if they just let us go to our zen place where we can meditate and focus on something else.

You can use an MP3 player and listen to your soothing music to help keep your mind off of the procedure and on your meditation. Close your eyes and forget where you are. Try not to think about what is going on and only breath and relax.

Meditation reduces anxiety.

When we are anxious we tend to tense up our body, which can cause us pain. We do this without even realizing it. Meditation releases anxiety; calms our spirit and releases tension, which in turn reduces or eliminates pain.

During labor:

Lamaze breathing exercise technique works similar to meditation because you are keeping your mind on each inhale and exhale so you don’t focus on the pain so much.

You can do meditation instead with a better result. Tensing your muscles makes the pain worse so if you can relax and concentrate on something else you will have an easier delivery.