Releasing The Burden: Healing Meditation For Chronic Illness

If you're suffering from chronic illness, this meditation can offer a reprieve and soothing relaxation.

Living with chronic illness is challenging and exhausting. At times, we feel like it's a heavy burden that we just can't put down. In this guided meditation, we validate the heaviness of living with chronic illness and call upon all of the support we need to endure the suffering. We then explore letting go of the burden and allowing it to be held within a sacred healing circle while we rejuvenate and restore ourselves through guided relaxation.

We ultimately come to honor the illness as a challenge with the possibility of also offering us gifts. We know who we are beyond our suffering and learn to care for this illness in the ways that it needs, knowing we don't have to do it alone.

Transcript

So I invite you to just begin to settle in,

You know,

Settle into this new moment.

It's a moment that we've never had before,

We'll never have again.

Inviting the body into a posture that feels comfortable and relaxing.

So if we need to lie down,

That is completely allowed.

If we want to find a comfortable seated posture,

We can do that.

Just let yourself get comfortable.

We might start with our eyes open for just a moment,

Looking around our room,

Wherever we are,

Taking in the space around us through our eyes.

Noticing colors,

Noticing shapes,

Taking in through our eyes through this visual stimuli.

If it's helpful,

We can look behind us,

Just orienting ourselves to the room around us,

Knowing that in this moment,

We are safe.

We're here and now,

And then closing the eyes if that feels comfortable,

Otherwise just softening the gaze.

Beginning to notice any sounds.

You might notice the sound of my voice,

The space between the sounds.

Noticing sounds that are further away,

And then sounds that feel closer.

As we breathe in through the nose,

We might notice smells.

We might notice taste in the mouth,

Allowing our senses to connect us more fully to this new moment.

Can we open to this moment with kindness and curiosity,

Letting go of how we think things should be,

And just for this moment,

Opening to how it is.

Nothing to fix or change or perfect.

Being here is enough.

You might notice touch points on the body,

Maybe the feet touching the earth beneath,

The sits bones on the chair or a cushion,

Clothes touching skin,

The air touching skin.

What does it feel like to be in this body in this moment?

I might experiment with taking a few deep breaths,

Seeing if we can inhale for the same duration as our exhale.

So maybe we breathe in for the count of four and out for the count of four.

We might also experiment with elongating the exhale,

So the exhale is slightly longer than the inhale.

Just noticing what that feels like.

If there's one practice that feels more supportive in this moment,

Taking a few more breaths in that way,

Whether it's a balanced breath or it's a prolonged exhale,

And then allowing the breath to return to its natural rhythm.

Breathing just one breath at a time.

Breathing in,

I'm aware I'm breathing in.

Breathing out,

I'm aware that I'm breathing out.

Dwelling in this present moment.

I know it is the only moment.

We'll begin to bring in this imagery in the mind's eye.

We might imagine that this illness that we live with is this heavy backpack or heavy luggage,

Just something heavy that we're carrying around day to day.

We might get really honest with ourselves and feel how heavy it is.

We don't have to pretend it's something that it's not.

Can we connect with the depth of the suffering,

With how exhausting it is to carry this around every day?

Just bringing a kind attention to whatever arises.

This belongs.

This is difficult.

I give myself permission to admit that this is really hard.

And as we connect with the depth of the suffering,

We might begin to notice what we need for support.

So we might start by adjusting the body if we need to,

If we're uncomfortable in any way.

We might explore a kind gesture,

Hand on the heart,

Hand on the cheek.

We could explore a mantra,

I care about this suffering.

And imagining that we can also call upon any other beings that we need to help us hold this burden,

This challenge.

So we can call upon friends and family.

We can call upon pets.

We can call upon our favorite place in nature,

Spiritual beings,

Our favorite tree.

And imagining that there's no limit to the amount of support that we can call in.

And bringing the support as close or as far as we need it.

We might begin to form this sacred circle of support.

Maybe we call upon Mother Earth just to support us,

All of her wisdom,

Her insight.

Whatever we need in this moment,

We can call upon it.

At any point in the practice,

More support can come to us in whatever way it needs.

And as we begin to feel this support,

We begin to take off this backpack,

Or we set down the heavy luggage,

Whatever it is that we're carrying,

Whatever symbol we are seeing for this illness that we have to carry around.

We feel this sense of safety that we can put it down just for a few moments.

Knowing that this circle of sacred support will tend to it,

Watch over it.

We don't have to carry it right now.

Noticing what it feels like to set it down.

We might even imagine our body free of this.

Maybe we feel a sense of lightness,

Ease.

And in our mind's eye,

We might imagine ourselves walking away from this backpack or this heaviness.

And in front of us is a sanctuary.

What comes to mind when you invite in this healing,

Relaxing sanctuary,

We walk forward.

We move more fully into this space.

It could be a forest,

It could be a meadow,

It could be a childhood home.

It could be anything that allows you to feel safe and relaxed.

Imagining just a few feet in front of you is this comfortable space to lie down.

Maybe it's a soft patch of grass in the sun,

Maybe it's a bed.

Maybe you want to climb up into a tree and lie there.

You step forward and allow yourself to lie down.

You notice this warmth that surrounds you.

And the body settles just a little bit more.

As we surrender into the support beneath us and around us.

The body relaxes just a little bit.

We might imagine that there's a soft,

Warm light that comes to the crown of the head.

And if there's any tension that we're holding throughout the head,

Along the forehead,

The back of the head.

This warm,

Soothing light relaxes the muscles,

Brings in warmth and calm.

You might notice the muscles around the eyes relaxing.

There's a soothing light moves down through the face.

Allowing the tongue to relax.

The teeth separate ever so slightly as we relax our jaw.

There's a warmth that's moving through.

Giving us permission to let go.

Let go of the tension that we're holding.

And this light comes around the ears and can actually move into the ear canal.

Creating space,

Warmth,

Comfort.

The soothing warm light moves down through the throat and the neck.

This wave of relaxation moves down into the shoulders.

This warmth comes through the shoulder joint,

Creating some space.

Allowing the light to move down from the upper arms,

Through the elbows,

The forearms,

Down into our hands and our fingers.

Bringing a soft,

Soothing warmth.

As the arms become a little heavier,

More relaxed.

Trusting that we'll be supported as we let go a little bit.

This light comes back up to the chest.

As we feel this soothing warmth coming into the heart.

Surrounding the heart.

Moving out into the lungs.

Allowing the lungs to fully expand with our next breath.

This beautiful,

Fluid movement of the heart and the lungs.

Filled with a soft,

Soothing warmth.

This soft light moves down into the belly.

All of the organs in the abdomen.

Receive this soothing warmth.

The muscles can relax.

As this light moves into the back,

From the upper back,

Down the spine,

To the middle back.

All the muscles,

To the low back.

Allowing this soft,

Soothing warmth.

To relax the muscles along the spine.

Allowing this warm,

Soothing light into the hips and the pelvic floor.

Moving down to the upper legs,

The knee.

You might imagine that this warm light can move through the knee joints.

Offering comfort.

Any release of tension.

And this soft,

Soothing light moves down to the lower legs,

Into the feet and the toes.

Bringing this soothing warmth throughout the entire body.

From the feet.

From the head,

All the way down.

We might rest here for a couple of minutes.

Allowing the body to be fully supported.

By the earth beneath,

By this warmth.

Giving ourselves permission to let go of the tension.

And be here,

Fully relaxed.

And then very slowly,

Whenever it feels comfortable to do so,

You begin to sit up.

Seeing in your mind's eye,

You're standing up,

Knowing that in any moment that you need,

You can return to this space.

You can relax and let go.

And as you feel this sense of relaxation in the body,

You can get up and walk back towards this sacred circle of support.

It's been taking care of the illness,

Whatever burdens we might feel from it.

And imagining that you too can go over and open this bag,

This backpack,

This luggage,

Whatever it is that you feel you're carrying around that feels heavy.

And you begin to take out items from the bag.

Maybe you're looking at the symptoms that you're dealing with.

One by one,

You take it out,

Hold it very gently.

Maybe this is the pain,

Maybe this is anxiety.

Take out the next item,

Maybe there's fear.

Noticing one by one,

Can you hold each of these pieces of the illness with kindness,

Compassion?

You set it down gently on the earth.

And the next item that you take out actually looks like a gift.

It's wrapped up and you open it up very gently,

Slowly.

Just notice what you might see.

Maybe something comes to mind,

Maybe there's a feeling.

What gift might there be?

Amongst this illness,

What feels like a very heavy burden?

Maybe we can access it,

Maybe we can't,

But just know that there's a gift here.

We're not discounting the other symptoms or the other experiences.

We're just noticing and inviting.

There's some treasure amongst this.

And then we step away.

We might join the sacred circle of support that we've envisioned.

Feeling connected in a way that is authentic to us,

Whether it's holding hands or feeling a heart connection.

And in the center of the sacred circle is this illness,

However it's symbolized.

It's being held,

It's being cared for.

Can we sense within ourselves the essence of who we are beyond this illness?

It's something we are carrying.

Can we notice who we are beyond that burden?

I'm beginning to just very gently let go of the imagery in the mind's eye,

Knowing that we can return to the sacred space whenever we need it,

Where we have our circle of support,

A place where we can set down the illness,

Where we can relax and let go.

We might just check in with how we're doing in this moment.

Noticing the next breath as we breathe in and breathe out.

Noticing what it feels like in the body.

Noticing if anything has shifted or changed.

We might close with a few well wishes.

May we be free of suffering and the root of suffering.

May we feel held in the great heart of compassion.

May we hold the illness and the pain with loving kindness and care.

May we know who we are beyond any suffering.

May we touch,

Create a natural peace.

Let's rest here for a few moments of silence.

And whenever you're ready,

You can open your eyes if your eyes were closed.

Taking your time,

You can stay in this space of meditation for as long as you would like.

And if you want,

Reviews

This was incredibly helpful... thank you for guiding me into a more relaxing state of being. 🙏🏻

Thank you for this wonderful guidance. It allowed emotion to be released, validation of the reality of the illnesses burden, consideration of support, getting in touch with the who I am (not overidentifying with the illness), and the possibility of gift in this challenge (authentic, supportive community found; forces to slow down and not be in control which is very difficult). Your meditations feel supportive, authentic, and they hit home so thank you.

Thank you so much, Theresa. That was so moving. My parents and grandparents, now gone, were at the foreground of my support group. I saw their hands so clearly, so familiar, so kindly. Thank you. A deep bow. 🙏

This was such a powerful practice at your live session, and I’m grateful to have a recording to return to. Temporarily laying down the heavy weight of our complex chronic illnesses allows us to relax - and heal - even better.

Thank you so much, Theresa! 🙏🏼