Your Mindset and Pain
How to Breathe into Discomfort
It’s one thing to know that your mindset creates your life, but when you’re feeling really uncomfortable or in actual pain, it’s often really hard to think thoughts that are supportive to your well-being.
Our thoughts and feelings have a back and forth relationship; our thoughts create our feelings and our feelings influence and create more thoughts. That means that if you wake up in the morning and feel pain or discomfort, you’re likely to have a thought that isn’t so positive. Those negative thoughts will create even more uncomfortable feelings and sensations in your body and you may end up in a thought/feeling feedback loop.
We all know that a negative mindset won’t help you create an ideal life. So how can we manage uncomfortable sensations and pain?
Here’s a mindful meditation that I love to use whenever I’m feeling pain or discomfort. When we move into the role of observer, let go, and begin to pay attention to feelings and sensations in our body with curiosity instead of instantly allowing ourselves to spiral into negative thoughts, we begin to notice the ebb and flow of the sensations and start to develop a different relationship with the pain.
Breath-Based Mindful Meditation for Pain and Discomfort
This meditation is adapted from meditations found in the book: You are Not your Pain; Using mindfulness to relieve pain, reduce stress, and restore well-being by Vidyamala Burch and Danny Penman.
Find a comfortable position lying on the floor, the couch, or your bed. If you have them, you can also place a pillow or cushion under your knees and under your head for more support. Cover yourself with a blanket if you’re cold. Eye pillows (heated, cool or neutral) are also really nice to use in this position.
Close your eyes and begin to notice your breath going in and out through your nose. Notice the sensations of the breath. Become aware of the rise and fall of your belly as you breathe in and out. Don’t try to regulate the breath in any way, just let your body breathe naturally.
When you’re ready, bring your awareness to your feet. Notice any sensations in your feet (i.e., tingling, temperature warm or cold?, pain, or perhaps nothing at all). If you notice any sensations, just observe with a curious attention, don’t try to change or alter the sensation in any way. Over time what you’ll notice with sensations is that they ebb and flow, they never stay exactly the same for very long.
Continue to do a body scan up through your legs to your abdomen, upper body and eventually to your head. If you notice any particularly intense or uncomfortable sensations as you move up through your body, stop and rest your attention there for a few breaths. Breathe into the sensations and observe. Be curious and don’t try to change the sensation, just notice. Once again, notice how the sensations change over time. If a particular area of the body is tense, see if you can breathe into that part and release some of the tension.
Once you’re finished with the body scan, rest in overall awareness of your entire body for a few breaths. See if you can notice any changes in how your body feels.
Stay in this position for as long as you can. When you’re ready, slowly open your eyes and start moving your body again before you get up and carry on with your day.
Doing practices like this regularly will help you to develop a deeper relationship with your body. You’ll notice how your thoughts and emotions impact how your body feels; it’s a little bit like a dance.
As you become more mindful and develop more body-awareness, you may even notice that you begin to feel more empathy and love towards your body and your pain. You’ll eventually find that it no longer holds you back from living your best life.
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