Hi,
This is Dr.
Adam Bledsoe,
And this meditation is called Embracing Your Painful Body Part.
This is the first step in healing any chronic or lasting pain.
That is,
To reintegrate that body part into the whole.
That's what this meditation is all about.
So to start,
I urge you to find a position that's very considerate of your symptoms.
Allow yourself to take whatever posture works for you.
If seated upright in a chair is what
Feels good,
Please do that.
If lying down or in a semi-reclined position supported
By pillows and blankets works better for you,
Let's do that.
Take a moment to get comfortable,
Allow yourself to move around as much as you need,
And then begin to arrive here and now.
Take a moment to notice all the ambient noise around you,
To notice everything that you bring
To this moment.
All the thoughts and feelings from the day,
Maybe what's coming next and what
You've already done.
You might be feeling the buzz in the body,
Or some symptoms might be present
With you right now.
We don't have to get rid of them to have a good meditation.
Having them all
Here is part of the process.
It's about choosing what we want to focus on and where we want to
Place our attention.
So allowing everything else to be there is a beautiful beginning.
You might bring your attention a little closer now and notice the surface that supports you.
I like to trace a line between myself and all my contact points and just simply feel my pressure
Into the surface supporting me.
If I'm sitting upright or in some way suspended,
Then I just
Feel the use of my muscles that are keeping me tall.
Taking a full breath in together and letting
It go.
With each inhale and exhale,
We become a little more present.
Allowing your feet to relax,
Your thighs to soften,
And your hips to let go.
Let your belly out.
You don't have to clench or
Hold.
Your chest can fall.
Check your hands if they're tight,
And if they are,
Let them relax.
Let the fingers curl open.
With your next inhale,
Allow your spine to grow long,
No matter what
Position you're in.
If the eyes aren't already closed,
You can do that.
Soften the muscles around
The eyes.
Soften the muscles around the lips.
Allow your ears to relax and slide down the side
Of your head.
Let your scalp go.
Put a little space behind the back molars or between the back
Molars.
Allow your tongue to relax and begin to feel your body breathing for you.
You don't have
To control it.
You can just let the body do what the body does.
Watching the inhale and watching
The exhale.
Taking a moment to become more present.
If and when the mind wanders and it finds something
Else to focus on,
Simply noticing and redirecting your attention back to your breath for the last
Few moments here.
Maybe you start to notice your body become a little bit more peaceful.
Maybe you
Can even notice a place in your body that is particularly relaxed.
Or maybe just an area in
Your body that's a little more neutral.
You don't really feel much from at all.
Paying attention to
Those areas can help in this exercise because it gives you a sense of what it feels like to be
Connected to a particular part of your body.
So often we can see a pain or a painful body part
As something outside of us.
A villain,
An annoyance,
A pest or something that has just let us down.
When
We approach our painful area like that,
It makes it really hard to help it heal.
We view that part
Of us as being broken or bad or not good enough.
And the brain will begin to neglect it.
Instead
Of helping it heal,
Calm or become soothed,
We'll treat it like an invader or a virus or a threat.
Now let's take a moment to remind the brain and nervous system that you're not broken and that
You're here to help.
I'd like you to bring your attention to your painful area and I'd like you
To notice all the other sensations coming from this area.
The different body sensations,
Tugging,
Tightness,
Heat,
Pulling,
Zapping.
Begin to notice the area in terms of sensations,
That the way the
Body is speaking to you.
And as you do,
It certainly might feel painful.
I'd like you to
Just remind your body and your painful body part that you're here.
You're coming to help.
You're
Coming to soothe.
You're coming to bring it back into the fold.
Send a little bit of kindness and
Empathy to it.
Almost as if you found a baby bird on the sidewalk that you're going to rescue.
You're
Going to help it back into its nest with a little love in your eyes,
Gentle hands.
You can place your
Hand on your heart and the other on that painful body part.
And in your mind or out loud,
Just
Whisper,
You're coming.
You can hear it.
You know it's struggling.
You're coming to help.
You might
Even notice a change in the sensations as you practice this.
As you just take a moment to sit
With the body part.
Not judging or naming it.
Not shunning it.
Just sitting with it.
Remembering
It's not a threat.
It's not dangerous.
It's part of you and it's trying to tell you something.
You
Might notice your heart rate rise or your breathing shift.
That's okay.
Simply noticing it.
Being with
The pain can be uncomfortable.
Just allowing it to be for a moment and feeling it as it is.
Remind
This part of your body that you appreciate that all it's been through.
All it's been trying to
Tell you and that you're here to listen now.
You're here to calm.
You're here to soothe.
You're
Showing up now to help bring this area back into the fold,
Into your whole,
To help reestablish
Its strength and resilience and connection.
And we're starting with the relationship between you
And this body part.
From there,
Almost anything's possible.
Go ahead and take a gentle,
Low,
Slow
Breath in.
And as you exhale,
Just allow that body part to soften.
Maybe you can breathe in
The pain from that body part.
And you can exhale it into the world.
Just being with it,
Without
Judgment,
With openness and curiosity,
As you simply allow yourself to reconnect with this
Painful body part.
It's going to change the relationship between your brain and this body
Part,
Beginning the healing process.
And before we complete,
Taking a moment to allow the body to
Talk in its own language,
To share its wisdom.
If this body part had anything to share with you
Right now,
And it could speak to you,
And you could listen,
What would it be saying?
And if you
Could set an intention from what you've learned here today,
That is,
If you could bring an action
Or a wish forward into your day,
Your week,
Into your life,
What would it be?
You can start that
Statement by saying,
I intend to,
And then express what it is you're bringing into your consciousness,
Into your actions,
Into your outcomes in the future.
Breathe that in,
And then relax it out.
And that brings this meditation of embracing your painful body part to a close.
You can come back
With a gentle part of this meditation at any point during your day,
And just re-embrace this area.
Remind it you're here to soothe,
To help,
To heal,
And mostly to get back into connection.
Repeat
This exercise more than once,
Until it becomes automatic.
My name is Dr.
Adam Bledsoe.
Thanks so
Much for meditating with me.
See you again.
