Meditation For When We Are Sick

Allow yourself a few minutes of comfort as we focus on our breath to help us manage illness. In this meditation, we use self-compassion and breathwork to manage uncomfortable sensations. We also focus on areas in the body that are well to help remind ourselves of the body's amazing capacity to heal. Take 10 minutes of self-care to help alleviate suffering or to get some rest. Please remember that this is not medical advice and you should always consult your doctor when you are not well.

Transcript

Hello,

And thank you for joining me today to explore a meditation on when we're not feeling great,

When we may be sick or maybe we didn't sleep well,

Or recovering from a procedure or surgery.

I'm going to encourage you to be kind and compassionate to yourself.

You're already taking the first step in healing by offering this self care.

So when you're ready,

Find yourself in a comfortable position.

You can be seated or lying down,

Taking a moment to make yourself oh so comfortable.

And even if comfort isn't in the cards today,

Just the attempt,

Just the thought,

The simple gesture for yourself can make a world of difference.

Maybe you have a blanket around you,

Slippers on,

A pillow under your head.

Take a moment to just settle in and feel these simple comforts.

The notion that this too will pass.

You will not always feel like this.

Allow yourself to feel that wholeheartedly and without pushing away any negative feelings,

Trying to grasp on to things that feel good.

Just allow what is right here and right now.

Let's focus on our breath together.

One of the simplest,

Most basic ways to stay in the present moment and to offer ourselves comfort.

So exhaling all your breath out,

Maybe placing one hand on the belly and one on the heart.

And deeply inhale through the nose,

Feeling your chest rise,

Your stomach expand.

And then exhaling slowly,

Completely,

Allowing all the stale breath out.

Maybe even visualizing as you inhale,

Healing,

Love and light.

And as you exhale,

Releasing the toxins,

Pain,

Discomfort,

Feeling a sense of relaxation with each inhale and exhale.

Breathing at your own pace.

If you have a sore throat or aches and pains,

Just noticing the breath coming in and out of the nose can help us not fixate on the other sensations.

If your head is aching,

If you have a stomach ache,

Focusing on the breath in and out,

Staying present,

Being kind and compassionate,

Allowing yourself to settle in.

As you breathe deeply,

Allow the muscles of the face to relax around the eyes and the sinuses and the nose,

The cheeks and the jaw,

Create some space,

Allowing the jaw to be heavy,

The tongue to be relaxed all the way down to the root.

Maybe even think about your earlobes relaxing.

Breathing and exhaling,

Feeling the muscles of the neck expand and elongate,

Your back soften and melt.

Stress,

Fear,

Anxiety rolling down your arms and out through your fingertips,

Down your spine to the base,

Down your legs,

Out your toes,

Releasing any unwelcome sensation.

Breathing deeply,

Feeling your breath slowing down,

Allowing your chest to expand,

The muscles in your stomach to relax and soften.

If you're guarding your lower back or your hips,

Breathe deeply and even allow this area to soften,

Feeling rooted and safe in the comfort of your space,

Knowing that this too shall pass.

Whatever uncomfortable sensations you're feeling,

This too shall pass.

Sometimes thinking about the next day and the following week can be overwhelming in times of sickness.

So just be kind to yourself and allow yourself to get through this one breath,

This one minute.

That's all you need to do today is to come back to the breath,

Softening the body.

Allow the lower body to relax,

The legs and the toes.

And if you're clenching your hands,

Offer grace and peace and kindness to yourself by releasing the tension,

Maybe flipping your palms up,

Allowing healing and peace to come in.

Rest,

Your biggest gift when you're not well,

Breathing and resting.

If you're feeling overwhelmed with sensations that are uncomfortable,

Take a few breaths to focus on an area in your body that has no pain,

No discomfort.

Starting at the top of the head,

Flowing down,

Maybe it's in a cheek,

Maybe it's in the left shoulder,

Maybe your right hand is more comfortable than the left.

Find one area and just focus and breathe,

Allowing the other sensations to lose their strength and intensity.

Resting on your breath and relaxing and softening.

And allow for any emotions that come up when we're not feeling well.

Sometimes we can cry easier,

Feel sorrow,

Maybe even a little depressed.

That is okay.

Allow the sensation,

This energy,

These feelings to arise and be kind to yourself by feeling them in the moment,

Not suppressing them and pushing them down.

Things that tend to sink usually float up at some point.

So focusing on the breath,

Noticing areas in the body that aren't suffering,

Feeling your emotions as they bubble up.

These are ways to show love and compassion to yourself during times of illness or dis-ease.

One more time,

Focus on the breath,

Taking a deep,

Long inhale and even longer exhale,

Settling into the comfort around you.

This too shall pass.

You only have to get through this next breath and this next one.

When you're ready,

Open your eyes.

And I encourage you to use one of these techniques throughout the day today to help relieve any suffering,

To help you heal and stay kind and nurturing to yourself.

Thank you so much for the precious gift of your time.

Until next time.

Reviews

Very comforting and relaxing meditation while sick with a cold. Thank you! 💛🌼

That was BEAUTIFUL! Such love and compassion! When I started I felt so nauseous and I had a sharp pain in my stomach. Both of thos things are almost gone. THANK YOU! I will return to this agin. Sending love and light. 🙏🏻❤️

Thanks! A helpful exercise for me today, as I'm feeling 🤧

Your voice was soft and gentle exactly what I needed this morning as I woke with a stomach ache due to what I think our food allergies or an upset micro biome. Caused very little sleep with a big day ahead. So I thank you for your kind words and your gentle morning practice as they ease me into my day and remind me to be gentle with myself and with others as I interact with many people today. Many blessings to you, Namaste.

Thank you so much for that! I am currently in the hospital dealing with a sickle cell pain crisis. I am doing better than I was, but I am still working on recovering. Hopefully I will be able to go home this weekend. This was very relaxing and calming. It also relieves tension and anxiety. I appreciate this mediation. Thank you again for sharing your gift to help others relax! 💜🙏🏽🥰🩷😘💕

Perfect meditation for when sick! I do often feel overwhelmed when thinking of the days ahead when I’m sick, so this was a great way to stay present and relax. Thank you 🤍

Thank you so very much, that was so helpful.
The voice was so so soothing and clear with a lovely sequence of breathing instructions to help calm and relax

Thank you for the comforting words. It's no fun being sick, yet this too shall pass. 🙏

This was a nice short guided meditation to use in times of illness/healing.

I have covid right now so this was very helpful. Thank you for your gentleness <3

Just what I needed. Saved this to go back to when needed

Beautiful meditation for those like me who feel nervous while sick. Since the pandemic, every time I catch a bug, I get extremely anxious. This was a beautiful meditation to remind me that I don’t need to think about tomorrow or next week. All I have to do is focus on this breath, here in the now.

Thank you. 💐

An excellent practice to deal with pain discomfort and illness. Her voice is very calming and the pacing is great.

Kind and gentle meditation that can help with recovery from any sort of illness or injury.

A very gentle comforting meditation for coping with sickness.

Can't breathe through my nose👃 😊 but otherwise a great meditation to help get through sickness.

So good! I was having upset stomach from some off food I ate and this meditation really helped me release the tension and expectations and just release... helped a lot!✋🪶🤚

You’ve got the most amazing offerings, Hillary. I eagerly await your reading of Little Women, a favorite childhood book, each week. Thank you for the joy and comfort you bring to the universe. Metta ✨✨✨✨

So soothing and calming …. This too shall pass 🙏🏻🙏🏻Amen. Thank you x

I’ve been sick and grumpy for a few days, and this was a lovely respite. Thank you.