Don't Relax The Body-Based Meditation For Pain Relief

Chronic symptoms can arise when emotions are buried deep inside us. In this meditation, our goal is simply to accept every feeling and sensation. This means embracing everything—joy, fear, shame, tension, and restlessness—without trying to relax or alter anything. By doing this, you're showing your nervous system that it's okay to feel all these emotions, which it might have been avoiding. Over time, this approach can reduce the likelihood of chronic symptoms.

Transcript

Hi there,

Welcome to this body based meditation.

In this meditation,

I'll be guiding you through different areas of the body.

The intention of this meditation is to learn to let sensations and emotions be as they are,

Without trying to change or relax anything.

The meditation will last about 30 minutes long,

And if at any point you feel unsafe,

Or you need to move around,

Please feel free to do so.

Now whenever you're ready,

Finding a comfortable position either seated or lying down,

And gently closing the eyes.

And starting the meditation by becoming mindful of the breath.

You may still be wearing the residue of the day gone by in the body and mind.

And because of that,

The body may feel restless,

And maybe the breath doesn't feel calm just yet,

But that's ok.

Let the breath be just as it is in this moment.

Whether it's feeling relaxed,

Or not so relaxed,

It doesn't really matter.

And whenever you're ready,

Turning your attention towards the first area of the body,

The base of the spine.

As well as becoming mindful of the base of the spine,

Also noticing your pelvis,

Muscles of the bum,

Tops of the thighs.

How does this area of your body feel?

Perhaps this area of the body feels relaxed,

Or maybe it feels not so relaxed.

Either way,

Can you just stay with it,

Just as it is.

If you're noticing your mind is getting distracted,

Keep bringing your attention back to the base of the spine,

The pelvis,

Muscles of the bum,

Over and over again.

Noticing if any parts of you are trying to relax the area.

Feeling resistant to the sensations in this area.

Seeing if you can acknowledge any resistance to the sensations in this area.

Then just practicing to let the sensations be exactly as they are.

As you keep focusing on the pelvis,

The base of the spine,

Noticing any emotions arising for you.

Perhaps you're feeling calm,

Collected,

Even joyful,

Spacious.

Or maybe you're feeling a bit restless,

Ashamed or afraid.

As you focus in on the base of the spine and the pelvis,

And you become mindful of any emotions arising,

Whether you're feeling calm and collected or afraid and ashamed.

Practicing to just let the emotions be exactly as they are.

All the while on every inhale arriving in a new moment,

And on every exhale leaving an old moment behind.

Spending one more minute to yourself,

Focusing in on the base of the spine,

The pelvis,

Muscles of the bum.

Noticing the sensations,

Noticing the emotions.

Perhaps things feel the same,

Perhaps things are rising and falling.

Either way,

Practicing to notice and accept.

Now whenever you're ready,

Taking your attention slightly further up the body,

Into the belly.

Noticing the rising and falling of the belly in unison with the breath.

As well as the belly,

Noticing the sides of the belly and the lower back.

How does this area of your body feel?

Perhaps it feels calm and collected,

Spacious.

Or maybe it feels restless,

Numb,

Agitated.

If you notice parts of you trying to relax the area,

Can you ask these parts to step aside and just let the sensations be just as they are.

If you notice yourself getting distracted at all,

Keep bringing your attention back to the belly,

The sides of the belly and the lower back.

Noticing any emotions arising for you as you focus in on this area.

Perhaps you're feeling calm,

Happy.

Maybe you're feeling afraid,

Angry,

Embarrassed,

Doubtful,

Confused.

As you focus in on the belly and the lower back,

Noticing any emotions arising for you,

Practicing to just let them be exactly as they are.

Keep bringing your attention back to the belly,

The sides of the belly and the lower back.

If things are feeling uncomfortable,

This is exactly where you need to be.

The more you can practice getting comfortable being uncomfortable in meditation,

The better prepared you'll be for ordinary life.

Welcome the discomfort.

All the while on every inhale arriving in a new moment and on every exhale leaving an old moment behind.

Spending one more minute to yourself focusing in on the belly,

The lower back.

Sensations and emotions may have changed,

They may have risen and fallen,

They may have stayed the same.

Either way just notice.

Now whenever you're ready,

Moving slightly further up the body,

Into the chest,

The heart,

Under the armpits and round to the mid back and even into the upper back.

Noticing the breath moving into these areas,

How does this area of the body feel?

Perhaps this area feels open and calm,

Or maybe it feels restless,

Tense,

Enclosed.

If parts of you are trying to relax the area,

See if you can ask these parts to step aside and just be with the sensations just as they are.

Remember if you're feeling a bit uncomfortable,

As long as it doesn't feel too unsafe,

This is exactly where you need to be.

Welcome the discomfort.

If you get distracted at all,

Keep bringing your attention back to the chest,

Mid back and the upper back.

As you focus in on this area,

Noticing any emotions arising for you.

Perhaps you feel full of love and compassion and empathy,

Or maybe you feel angry or sad or afraid,

Or even distracted,

Doubtful or confused,

Overwhelmed.

Whichever emotions you're noticing,

Even if they have repeated themselves throughout the meditation,

Keep letting them know.

It's completely fine that they're here.

See if you can notice how an emotion moves around the body.

If you notice parts of you trying to resist an emotion,

See if you can let these parts of you know,

Let's just try and be with the emotion instead of resisting it.

What happens if we just let ourselves feel fear,

Feel some sadness or anger,

While on every inhale arriving in a new moment,

And on every exhale leaving an old moment behind.

Spending just one more minute paying attention to the chest,

The mid and the upper back.

Well done,

Doing very well.

Noticing how any sensations or emotions may have changed,

Perhaps they've stayed the same.

Now whenever you're ready,

Bring your attention slightly further up the body,

Into the throat,

The sides of the neck,

And the back of the neck.

Can even notice the tops of the shoulders.

How does this area of your body feel?

Perhaps it feels open and calm,

Maybe it feels tense and closed.

Either way,

Just notice.

Noticing if parts of you are trying to relax the area or resisting any sensations.

And seeing if you can ask these parts of you to step aside and just let the sensations be exactly as they are.

Whether they're feeling relaxed or not relaxed.

If you notice yourself getting distracted,

Keep bringing your attention back to the throat,

Neck,

Shoulders.

This area is a smaller area than the other areas of your body.

This area is a smaller area than the other areas of the body,

So it's easy to take your attention away from the area.

Just keep coming back.

Noticing if you're getting distracted a lot.

Noticing if your attention is going to different parts of the body.

Noticing if your attention is going to different parts of the body.

And if you can,

Keep bringing your attention back to the throat,

The neck and the shoulders.

As you focus in on this area over and over again,

Noticing the emotions or even the thought patterns that are arising for you.

Are you feeling open and calm and happy?

Maybe you're feeling restful,

Restless,

Doubtful.

Maybe you notice you're planning a lot.

Maybe you're feeling sad or angry.

Whichever emotions or thought patterns you're noticing,

See if you can just let them be just as they are.

You may even notice you're feeling particularly resistant to an emotion,

To a sensation.

Maybe you're beginning to feel restless in the mind and body.

Just let your resistance know you understand why it's here,

But restlessness is okay.

It's a good sign if we're feeling restless in meditation.

It means we get to practice being with discomfort.

All the while on every inhale,

Arriving in a new moment.

And on every exhale,

Leaving an old moment behind.

Spending one more minute to yourself,

Focusing in on the neck,

The throat and the shoulders.

Good.

And now whenever you're ready,

Taking your attention slightly further up the body,

Into the chin,

The cheeks,

Around the muscles of the nose,

The eyes.

Between the eyes and into the forehead.

As well as the forehead,

Noticing the sides of the head.

The back of the head.

And the top of the head.

How does this area of your body feel?

Perhaps it feels clear,

Spacious,

Relaxed.

Maybe it feels closed,

Chaotic.

Not so relaxed.

Either way,

Just notice.

If you notice parts of you purposely trying to relax the area,

Or calm the head down.

See if you can ask these parts to step aside and just let this area feel exactly how it needs to feel.

And if you notice that this area of your body is not so relaxed,

Ask it to step aside and just let this area feel exactly how it needs to feel.

Even if it's chaos.

Let it be.

Perhaps you're not used to letting discomfort be there just as it is.

When we really sit with discomfort for the first time,

It can feel like an eternity.

The more we learn to sit with discomfort,

The easier it becomes.

If you notice yourself getting distracted,

Keep bringing your attention back.

The forehead,

The back of the head,

The top of the head.

And becoming mindful of any emotions or thought patterns arising for you.

Maybe you feel full of love and calm and relaxation.

Or maybe you feel afraid,

Overwhelmed,

Chaotic,

Confused,

Or doubtful,

Angry.

Either way,

Just notice the emotions arising for you.

And instead of trying to relax them or get rid of them,

Practice letting them be just as they are.

All the while on every inhale arriving in a new moment.

And every exhale leaving an old moment behind.

And every exhale leaving an old moment behind.

For the last minute or so,

Keep bringing your attention to the forehead,

The sides of the head,

The back of the head,

And the top of the head.

Practicing to let any sensations or emotions be exactly as they need to be.

Good,

And as we come close to the end of the meditation,

Keeping the eyes closed and placing one hand flat on the chest and one hand flat on the belly.

Noticing the rising and falling of the chest and belly in unison with the breath.

And in unison with the breath,

One by one.

Let's quickly go back through all the areas of the body again.

Starting with the base of the spine,

Noticing the pelvis,

Tops of the thighs,

Muscles of the bum.

Moving your attention up into the belly,

Sides of the belly and the lower back.

Moving up into the chest,

The mid-back,

The upper back,

The armpits.

Moving up the body into the shoulders,

You can even go up and down the arms into the hands.

Up back through the hands,

The elbows,

The shoulders,

Back of the neck,

Sides of the neck.

Up back through the hands,

The elbows,

The shoulders,

Back of the neck,

Sides of the neck,

The throat,

The chin,

The cheeks,

Round the eyes,

The nose,

The forehead,

Sides of the head,

Back of the head and the top of the head.

With the eyes closed and the hands on the body in unison with the breath,

Noticing your attention going from the base of the spine all the way up through the body to the top of the head.

And keeping the eyes closed for one more minute.

Ending the meditation as I always like to do,

By inviting you to open your heart to someone or something.

And the invitation is to open your heart to anyone or anything in your life.

It can be someone you love,

It could be just an acquaintance or a colleague,

It could be yourself,

It could be your favourite food,

Favourite colour,

The weather.

Whoever or whatever you've chosen to open your heart to,

Noticing how it makes your mind and body feel.

Good and now whenever you're ready,

Taking a final deep inhale here and a clearing exhale.

Whenever you're ready,

Softly opening the eyes and coming back into the room.

Thank you for joining me in this body-based meditation today.

Have a lovely day,

A lovely evening and hopefully see you soon.

Reviews

Great meditation for learning how to allow, aka get comfortable with discomfort. Felt so much discomfort!!!😅

Let it be. New sensation of pain in neck area of the spine. Crunch of time and money stressors could be to blame, but I left it alone. It spread into my inner skull then returned to the original area. An hour later it's still hurting. And I'm letting it be.

This is a very nice and slow body scan of the core, with mindfulness of breathing and emotions

Good to stay with the sensations of the body. To feel the feelings and not fix them. A different approach to calming the nervous system.

This was like an amazing body rinse! A different approach to relaxing everything without trying! Currently experiencing challenging health ~ this helped very much. ☀️🌚😁😞 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻