Welcome to the mindfulness of pain in the body.
In this meditation,
You will learn how to shift your attention from being immersed in the sensation of pain to turning it as the object of your attention,
Which will create some space then between you and the experience of the sensation of pain in the body.
From now on,
I'm going to change the language from using pain to simplifying it to sensation.
The word pain can be triggering for many of us,
And we'll just switch it to sensation to soften the language,
Not to minimize it,
Simply just to take away the trigger.
I'll invite you now to close your eyes.
As you close your eyes,
Adjust your posture.
You may choose to lay down if it's too much for you at any time,
Or you can sit in an upright position.
If you're sitting upright,
I'll invite you to lengthen through your spine,
Sitting nice and tall.
And in any position that you choose,
I will now invite you to take a few deep breaths.
As you inhale,
I'll invite you to feel the space that's created in the body.
Notice how the body expands to receive the breath.
And as you exhale,
Notice how the body recedes as it releases the breath and the emptiness that's left behind.
Notice the spaciousness of the inhales,
Maybe feeling how the ribs expand,
Tightening against your clothing.
And as you exhale,
Feel how the body softens back into itself as it empties.
Allow your breath to now settle into its natural rhythm,
Letting go of controlling the breath in any way,
And observing the breath as it is now.
Notice the rise and fall,
Allowing the breath to become easy,
Softening the belly so that the breath can flow freely through it,
Simply observing each breath from beginning to end as it happens in the body.
I'll invite you now to begin to comb the body for any areas of tension or holding that may still be here,
Starting with the space between your brows,
Allowing it to broaden,
Softening the forehead,
Soften the jaw.
The shoulders release down the back,
Soften the chest and belly,
Release the weight of the arms and legs.
Begin looking for any other areas that could maybe soften,
Even just the tiniest bit more,
Any amount,
While feeling the flow and the ease of the breath.
I'll invite you now to turn towards the strongest sensation in the body.
This might be the breath at this moment,
And the breath will be your anchor that you can return to at any time if your mind wanders or if anything feels like it's too much.
Just simply come back to the breath,
Allow your focus and attention to rest here.
However you may also turn to the sensations of the body,
Whatever feels the strongest or is asking for your attention.
And as you turn your attention to it,
As the object of your attention,
I'll invite you to take on the attitude of okayness,
That everything here is okay exactly as it is.
You don't need to try and change it into something else or push it away,
Simply accepting that this is what it is in this moment.
And as you turn towards the sensation with this attitude of okayness,
I'll invite you to become curious,
As though you want to become more intimate with this sensation,
Get to know it a little better.
And I invite you to begin by first turning to notice the location that this sensation resides in.
Where does it live?
Where is it now?
How much space does this sensation take up?
Can you notice where it begins?
And sense the edges or the periphery.
And perhaps noticing if these edges feel solid,
Like a mass,
Or something more fluid,
Or even airy.
Does it just disappear?
And notice if the sensation has a movement.
Maybe it has a pulsing or expanding,
Contracting sensation.
Maybe it has a movement of an up or down or sinking,
Rising.
Just notice what is the movement of the sensation,
If it has one.
Can you label it?
Notice if it has a color,
And the intensity of that color.
If it seems more transparent or opaque.
Staying with the breath.
Noticing the rise and fall as you observe.
And I invite you to stay with the sensation,
Just observing it in this way.
Noticing how it changes with your attention or not.
Fully accepting it as it is,
While allowing your breath to stay steady and calm,
Relaxed and at ease.
Noticing that any time you can simply return your attention back to your breath.
If the sensation feels too intense,
Sometimes it's helpful to give it some more space.
You can imagine a tiger in a tiny cage pacing back and forth.
And as it paces,
It can create this energy,
This intensity.
However,
If you put the tiger into acres and acres of land,
That intensity starts to disperse as it has more space to roam.
And it can feel that way as well with the intensity in our bodies.
Can you widen your awareness to give the sensation more space?
Give it room to roam.
Your mindscape can be vast and open.
And it can be helpful to do that now.
Being mindful to stay with the breath.
Being connected to the breathing.
And if it still feels okay for you staying with the sensations in the body,
Observing how it changes.
As we watch the sensations of the body,
We start to notice that it fluctuates.
The intensity is not always the same.
It might dip down,
It might go up,
It might move.
And with your attention,
Observing the sensation as it is and the little shifts as it also changes.
Feeling this attitude of okayness and ease in the breathing.
You can do this.
Wherever you have the capacity to be here.
Gently holding your attention and maintaining the breath.
You can do this.
Just for a few more moments staying here.
And then when you are ready,
I'll invite you to deepen your breathing as you come back into your body.
Come back into this moment.
And when you are ready,
I'll invite you to open your eyes.
Thank you for sharing this practice with me.
And I look forward to doing it again with you very soon.
Namaste.
