Mindfulness as a tool for pain management
Mindfulness and meditation practices can help us to stay healthy, increase our resilience, and help us cope with day to day challenges. These skills also help in times of physical pain and illness, both acute and chronic.
Over the last week I’ve had an opportunity to practice all the mindfulness skills I’ve learned to help manage the acute pain I’ve experienced from breaking my wrist. We can think of pain in many different ways – there’s acute pain like I just mentioned, for example breaking a bone, and there’s chronic pain, which is pain you experience on an ongoing basis, for example arthritic pain.
In my coaching program we also learned about “clean” pain and “dirty” pain (an ACT tool from Dr. Steven Hayes). Clean pain refers to pain that you can’t control, such is the pain from breaking a bone. Dirty pain, on the other hand, results from our thoughts about the pain. For example, some dirty pain thoughts I’ve had this week include being distressed that I can’t engage in my usual yoga practice or go out for a long hike. This distress leads to anxiety and, if left unchecked, can sometimes lead to depression. To manage clean pain it’s important to follow the doctors instructions, take the proper medication, engage in rehabilitation, and listen to your body when it needs to rest. Our mindfulness practices are essential in helping us stay away from the dirty pain.
When you notice that you’re having thoughts about your pain that are not useful, there are several strategies that can be used to lessen the effects of those thoughts. Engaging in self-care is vital. This self-care can involve a proper diet, fresh air, appropriate exercise, writing in a gratitude journal, etc.
Meditation can also help. Here is a brief meditation adapted from a longer version in the book You are not your pain by Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman.
Compassionate Acceptance for Pain Meditation
In this meditation, you are invited to gently turn towards your experience of pain or an experience of difficulty with compassion and gentleness. This will help to reduce the secondary or dirty pain you are experiencing.
Make yourself comfortable either sitting in a chair or lying down on the floor on your bed. Let your body surrender to gravity. Feel how the surface beneath you supports your body.
When you are ready, you are invited to either close your eyes or softly lower your gaze and begin to notice your breath. Feel your breath expanding throughout your entire body, and letting it gently rest in any area that is experiencing pain or discomfort. Don’t try to resist the pain, but instead spend some time just noticing as it ebbs and flows. Just let the pain be part of your awareness. You don’t need to attach a label to it, just notice. Do you notice the way the pain sensations are constantly changing and how no two moments are exactly the same?
Meet these sensations with kindness and curiosity.
Now I invite you to fill the breath with self-compassion. As you breathe in, imagine the kindness flowing through your body and as you breathe out imagine that kindness seeping in even further. Breathe in and out in this way for several minutes turning self-compassion towards yourself. Let yourself be rocked and cradled with this compassionate breath.
Stay here just breathing for as long as you like.
As you bring this meditation to a close, begin to bring your awareness to the entire space around you. As you open your eyes see if you can keep this feeling of kindliness and compassion with you as you go about the rest of your day.
I’d love to hear from you so please send any comments or questions to me at sharon@sharonashtonmindfulyoga.com. Feel free to share this email with anyone else who may be interested.
Are you interested in life and mindset coaching? As part of my Wayfinder Life Coaching certification practicum, for a limited time I am currently accepting clients for complimentary sessions. If you would like more information on this limited-time opportunity, please email me to set up an appointment or visit my website coaching page.
You are also invited to join my free Facebook group The Journey Within Mindful Yoga and Life Change Community here where we can connect to share resources and short mindful yoga and meditation practices:
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