Welcome to this meditation for chronic pain.
Please begin by getting into whatever position feels most comfortable for you right now,
Whether seated,
Standing,
Or lying down.
Once you've settled in,
Gently close your eyes and take three deep breaths,
Paying close attention to the sensations of each breath as it travels into the body and out of the body.
And as your breath resumes its normal rhythm,
Continue attending to those sensations.
You might feel the air as it passes through the nose or throat,
Or the expansion and contraction of the chest,
Or the rise and fall of the belly.
Whatever you feel,
Try to greet it with curiosity and kindness.
And if your mind starts to wander or make judgments,
Simply return your attention to the breath.
Next,
I invite you to bring your attention to an area of the body where you experience physical pain.
The pain may be spread out,
But see if you can locate the place in the body where it is most expressed right now.
As you focus your attention on this area,
Try to describe what you're feeling to yourself.
Instead of just labeling it as pain,
See if you can examine its different qualities.
What shape and size does it take in the body?
Is it sharp,
Dull,
Aching,
Prickling,
Pulsating,
Something else?
Does it feel cool or warm?
Notice if it changes in intensity or moves around as you focus on it.
You might observe subtle shifts in sensation as you focus inward.
Often our response to pain is to back away from it,
But our struggle to avoid pain can actually intensify it,
So I encourage you in this moment to stay with it and bring the same curiosity and kindness that you did to the breath.
And if stories or judgments about the pain arise,
As they often do for many of us,
Just note them,
And then gently bring yourself back to being present with the painful area.
Next,
I invite you to shift your focus to an area of the body where you are experiencing no pain,
Or much less pain,
And bringing that same curiosity and kindness,
Go ahead and explore this area for any sensations that are present in this moment.
Are there pleasurable sensations in this area?
Neutral ones?
What shape,
Size,
Texture,
Or temperature are these sensations?
Do they remain static,
Or change in intensity or location as you focus in on them?
If you aren't feeling any sensations,
That's okay too.
Just continue directing your awareness to this area of the body for a few more cycles of breath.
Now,
I'd like you to expand your focus to your whole body,
Encompassing both the painful and the non-painful or less painful area.
What happens when you hold everything in awareness at once?
Does anything change about your experience?
Can you bring curiosity and kindness to all of it?
Observe how much spaciousness there is inside of you,
Spaciousness that can contain both areas and much more,
That can encompass painful sensations,
Neutral ones,
And pleasurable ones all at the same time.
Take a few breaths to remain here,
Aware of the whole body,
Staying with all of the sensations that arise,
Noticing what happens from moment to moment.
When we have chronic pain,
We often identify with it.
We come to feel that we are our pain,
And that our pain defines everything about us.
But when we focus inward and tune into our experience,
We may find that the pain is not all of us,
But rather a collection of ever-changing sensations,
Which are themselves part of a much bigger constellation of moving and shifting sensations in the body.
Whatever you experience today,
Please give yourself gratitude for your willingness to show up and be present here,
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
I wish you peace and ease.
Thank you for meditating with me today.
