Back Pain: Inviting You Inwards

One of the most common ailments we experience as human beings, yet so little understood on a deeper level. What if your experience of back pain can be more than simply 'that thing you want gone'? What if you are invited here and now to embrace consciously and courageously the profoundly transformative nature of this ailment? You are invited inwards, so come along.

Transcript

Your pain,

Discomfort,

And aches are acknowledged here.

Now in this moment,

I invite you to find a position that causes you the least amount of strain.

And if you are already in a position,

Then please perform any micro-movements that your body may call for.

Let your body guide.

We acknowledge the mind here and now with its many messages.

At times of pain,

The mind may seem to scream.

And that is now acknowledged too.

Yet for the purpose of this meditation,

We give the mind a break.

It may now be of secondary nature and the body has all the priority.

This I invite you to give yourself permission for.

I invite you to give your body the permission to be the priority here and now.

And with this being said and having given permission to your body,

I invite you,

Wherever you are now situated,

To take a breath as deep as you needed into your body.

And exhaling that very breath out.

Closing your eyes as a new breath enters your very body now.

Placing ever so gently your awareness on your breath.

Observing how your body is guiding you in regards to how deeply to breathe.

Having given the mind a pause isn't always easy for the mind to comprehend.

So when your mind does become a little too active wanting to be the priority,

Know that your body is here inviting you back in.

Your breath is here inviting you back in.

So come back to your body now.

Come back,

Return to your breath.

And allow yourself to just feel how your body is guiding breath.

No need to intellectualize what that may mean.

Just following your breath on the inhale into the body and on the exhale out of the body.

And having familiarized yourself with your breath here for a few minutes now,

I invite you to now take on a more active role with your breath.

On your next inhale,

Guide your breath into the area of your back that is causing the most discomfort or even pain.

And then let the exhale flow from that place out as if to carry whatever is there.

Coming into that region again and exhaling from that region outwards,

Out into the world around and continuing this way deliberately,

Consciously.

And please know if you feel that there's multiple areas across your back that require this breath,

That cause you discomfort,

Then bundle these areas into one,

Creating a larger region of your back,

Maybe even your entire back.

And with the next inhale,

Breathing into that very region with determination,

Filling it with air and oxygen,

And then allowing the exhales to come naturally,

Expelling all there was,

Always continuing to sense what your body needs,

How deeply your body wants you and needs you to breathe.

Depending on the severity of discomfort and pain,

Your breath may be on the shallower side and that is just what you need.

Exhaling the way your body needs.

Inhaling into the region of discomfort and tension.

Exhaling from that place out,

Out into the world around,

Continuing consciously with this breath,

Letting a rhythm establish itself and your awareness merely resting on this rhythmic flow,

Inhaling into the region and exhaling out from that place.

And each time the mind comes in with messages,

Judgment,

Warnings,

Know that you can trust your body and then returning to your breath that continues to flow into the region of your back and out from that region of your back as if a wave carries oxygen into all these places of discomfort or even pain and the exhales like a receding wave carrying away all that no longer serves.

Little by little,

You may notice that the breath deepens a little more and here I invite you to embrace as little or as much as you can this flow of in followed by out,

Becoming aware of how each inhale brings vital oxygen into all these regions of discomfort,

Healing oxygen for your cells and each exhale carrying away little by little some of the tension,

Some of the sensations that at times can seem overwhelming,

Frustrating.

In your determination to breathe in this way and nourish your back in this way,

You are acknowledged.

It is no little task to take care of yourself in this way when pain,

Discomfort,

Achiness are present.

By being right here and now doing what you're doing for yourself,

You're showing yourself that you have your own back even in times of discomfort and challenge.

So let this next inhale flow even more consciously into the region that challenges you and let the exhale to carry more out and away what you no longer need.

Here,

I invite you to not only be aware by feeling this rhythmic flow of your breath,

But I invite you to now also visualize how the inhales bring forth to you into these regions of your back what you need and on the exhales visualizing how things are brought out and away from those regions of your back.

One way to visualize is by seeing light as you inhale being drawn in,

Circulating and filling the space in your back with light,

And the exhales carrying away the old light,

Lower light,

Darker hues that are no longer needed,

Leaving out,

Out,

And away.

Inhaling bright,

Shining light.

Exhaling all the darker,

All that that no longer serves.

A flow state continues to establish itself more deeply with this practice where you now not only feel through your breath the exchange in with new,

Out with old,

But aside from feeling this exchange,

Now also seeing it.

And please know if light isn't what serves you here,

Any other visuals that may come to you naturally are equally encouraged.

On the inhale,

Breathing into that region in your back,

And the exhale with determination,

Letting all that old expel.

Remembering that once the mind returns,

Wanting to be more of a priority again,

The breath is now so present within your awareness that here you can find it easily and return.

Inhaling into your back,

And exhaling from your back,

Out,

Out,

And away.

This breath that continues to flow in and out,

That flows through you like waves traveling through the sea.

This breath may even invite at times some gentle movement.

If you notice the body to desire some gentle swaying in accordance with your breathing rhythm,

Then however you are situated,

I invite you to allow movement to be present,

Gentle.

Even if it is just for a little while,

This gentle movement in synchronicity with your breathing may bring benefits that are unique to just movement itself.

Benefits that we may not be able to foresee,

Yet always soft and gentle.

That is the premise.

Micro-movements,

Motion with breath.

Eventually,

There will come a moment where you feel inclined,

Maybe sooner or later,

To drop it all in a sense.

Seize the visuals.

Seizing the awareness being placed on your breathing.

If you were moving,

Seizing the motion,

And eventually just being here in the position that you're in with your awareness not exclusively on your breath anymore,

But on you,

On your being,

Whatever that may mean to you,

Still free from the mind.

With this,

I let you to decide when that moment comes.

So here you can continue to be with your breath,

Be with the visuals that flow in and out.

And even move minimally,

Gently,

Still,

For however long or short your body may need.

Eventually,

Letting it all seize,

Letting it all end,

Culminate in just being.

Reviews

Exactly what i wanted to experience with this new pain - got to see what beliefs i am holding that contributes to this feeling. Thank you