Latest / Abide Meditation App / Guided Meditation for Pain Relief and Healing _ Healing Meditation for Deep Rest

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Guided Meditation for Pain Relief and Healing _ Healing Meditation for Deep Rest · Abide Meditation App

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome to Get Sleepy, where we listen, we relax, and
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: we get sleepy. I'm your host, Thomas. This is a
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  Speaker 1: special episode requested by several of our regular listeners, made
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  Speaker 1: especially for those who are in some physical pain at bedtime.
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  Speaker 1: Maybe you have chronic pain Or suffered a recent injury.
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  Speaker 1: Or perhaps it's just the wear and tear of daily
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  Speaker 1: life that's left you feeling achy. And understandably, you're looking
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  Speaker 1: for some relief. First of all, I'm so sorry you're
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  Speaker 1: not feeling your best. But know that whatever you're going through,
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  Speaker 1: you're by no means alone. And I hope you can
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  Speaker 1: get the help you need. Sleep can be particularly challenging
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  Speaker 1: when you're dealing with physical pain. So that's what we'll
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  Speaker 1: work on tonight. Hopefully this meditation will help you have
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  Speaker 1: more restful, peaceful and comfortable nights that rejuvenate you for
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  Speaker 1: the following day. Although this practice is designed for sleep
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  Speaker 1: it can certainly be used at any time of day
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  Speaker 1: whenever you're feeling overwhelmed or bothered by pain and discomfort.
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  Speaker 1: In a moment I'll hand over to Anne who will
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  Speaker 1: explain how pain works what it means to bring mindfulness
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  Speaker 1: toward pain and how doing so can bring relief After that,
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  Speaker 1: she'll guide you in calming your nervous system, which will
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  Speaker 1: reduce the sensation of pain you feel. And finally, she'll
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  Speaker 1: calmly guide a meditation designed for times like this, when
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  Speaker 1: your brain's internal alarm has gone off and the pain
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  Speaker 1: you're experiencing feels tough to bear. The technique we'll use
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  Speaker 1: is called titration. It involves moving your awareness back and
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  Speaker 1: forth from something unpleasant in the body towards something pleasant
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  Speaker 1: in the body. Over time, this practice of titration helps
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  Speaker 1: desensitize the nervous system to pain. Even just several focused
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  Speaker 1: repetitions back and forth can train our mind to coexist
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  Speaker 1: with the pain, rather than fight it and make it worse. So,
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  Speaker 1: relax into bed, or wherever you're resting at this time,
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  Speaker 1: and I'll make way for Anne to begin our meditation.
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  Speaker 2: For most of us, when pain arises in the body,
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  Speaker 2: our first reaction is to seek to get rid of it.
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  Speaker 2: Although this is a natural response, it's not the most
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  Speaker 2: useful one because it adds an additional layer of pain
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  Speaker 2: to what's already there. So instead, we'll be training the
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  Speaker 2: opposite response. Mindfulness. A response to pain that opens us
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  Speaker 2: up rather than shuts us down. One in which we
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  Speaker 2: compassionately get to know our pain and allow it to
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  Speaker 2: be there. This mindful response to pain may seem like
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  Speaker 2: a stretch right now, And that's okay. For the purposes
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  Speaker 2: of this meditation, drop any expectation or goal you may
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  Speaker 2: have of feeling better. Or even any goal of being
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  Speaker 2: at peace with your pain. Instead, make your goal to
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  Speaker 2: simply approach this meditation with curiosity. and with an open mind.
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  Speaker 2: Learning to be at peace with all of the flavors
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  Speaker 2: of life is a courageous practice that can take time
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  Speaker 2: to master. But unlike quick fixes that generally only work temporarily,
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  Speaker 2: training the mindful response yields meaningful rewards you can look
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  Speaker 2: forward to. First, bringing mindfulness toward pain can change how
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  Speaker 2: painful you perceive something to be. Something that was once
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  Speaker 2: an eight out of 10 on the scale of discomfort
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  Speaker 2: can transform into a six or even a five. Paradoxically,
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  Speaker 2: As a byproduct of opening up to the pain, we
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  Speaker 2: can then experience more joy, more love, more awe. When
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  Speaker 2: we take our feet off the brakes and allow ourselves
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  Speaker 2: to feel pain in any form, other emotions and experiences
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  Speaker 2: feel safe to come out of hiding. and a fuller,
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  Speaker 2: more vibrant life becomes available to us. Opening up to
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  Speaker 2: our pain also brings us closer to others, since pain
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  Speaker 2: is a universal human experience. In fact, the relationship between
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  Speaker 2: pain and social connection is built into our bodies. When
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  Speaker 2: we experience something stressful, our body secretes the hormone oxytocin,
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  Speaker 2: which encourages social bonding. Opening up to pain helps us
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  Speaker 2: to relate to others and bring us closer to them.
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  Speaker 2: And lastly, when approached with curiosity and intrigue, Pain has
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  Speaker 2: the capacity to teach us about ourselves, our minds, and
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  Speaker 2: the world. It can even be a source of inspiration
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  Speaker 2: and hope for others. So let's get started and train
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  Speaker 2: the mind to be open, curious, and accepting toward pain
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  Speaker 2: so we can live fuller, more harmonious lives. If you
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  Speaker 2: haven't already, find a comfortable position. If you're finding this
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  Speaker 2: difficult to do because of pain in your body Let
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  Speaker 2: go of tossing and turning. Instead, see if there's something
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  Speaker 2: small you can do to add a bit of comfort.
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  Speaker 2: Maybe you take a few extra moments to build a
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  Speaker 2: luxurious pillow fortress around your body. Or you could cover
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  Speaker 2: yourself with the coziest, softest blanket you own. You could
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  Speaker 2: also try placing a hand at your heart or even
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  Speaker 2: starting off the practice by giving yourself a gentle hand massage.
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  Speaker 2: Throughout this meditation, allow yourself full permission to do whatever
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  Speaker 2: you need. That might mean changing positions a few times.
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  Speaker 2: It might mean releasing a few periodic sighs from your mouth.
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  Speaker 2: Or it might mean letting my voice completely drift into
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  Speaker 2: the background. We'll begin by soothing our hard-working nervous system.
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  Speaker 2: Since it regulates how painful we perceive a sensation to be,
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  Speaker 2: When we're stressed and tense, our nervous system becomes sensitized
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  Speaker 2: and hyper-alert. And when this happens, everything feels like a threat,
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  Speaker 2: regardless of whether it is or not, and we're more
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  Speaker 2: likely to feel pain. But when we can relax, our
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  Speaker 2: nervous system can settle down We can focus on other things,
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  Speaker 2: and we're less likely to feel pain at all. We'll
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  Speaker 2: be soothing the nervous system using the breath, but also
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  Speaker 2: through cultivating the quality of curiosity. While stress and anxiety
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  Speaker 2: narrow our mind, curiosity opens it up. making it easier
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  Speaker 2: to see the bigger picture and get into a state
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  Speaker 2: of relaxation. Start by taking several slow, calming breaths. Breathe
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  Speaker 2: in deeply and slowly through your nose. And as you
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  Speaker 2: exhale through your nose, Release something in your body that
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  Speaker 2: doesn't need to be working right now. In through the nose. Out.
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  Speaker 2: And relax everything.
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  Speaker 1: Inhale.
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  Speaker 2: Exhale. Exhale. Softening the tiny muscles in your face, scalp,
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  Speaker 2: and forehead. Inhale. Exhale. Softening the muscles of the shoulders, back,
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  Speaker 2: and upper body. Inhale. Exhale. Relax the belly and the hips. Inhale. Exhale. Exhale.
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  Speaker 2: Soften the muscles of the legs. Continue breathing deeply like this.
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  Speaker 2: Pain is woven into the fabric of each of our
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  Speaker 2: lives from the minute we enter the world until we
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  Speaker 2: take our very last breath. Pain is a universal human experience.
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  Speaker 2: And yet, it's so easy to feel that pain is
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  Speaker 2: taking us away from life. That if we could only
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  Speaker 2: figure out a way to get rid of our pain
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  Speaker 2: or to avoid it altogether, everything would fall into place
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  Speaker 2: and we'd live happily ever after. However, it is this
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  Speaker 2: exact belief that pain is bad and must be avoided
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  Speaker 2: that makes our pain feel worse or what creates it
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  Speaker 2: in the first place. Anticipating pain before it happens and
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  Speaker 2: either pushing it away or attempting to numb it out
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  Speaker 2: of existence when we're experiencing it only exacerbates it. There's
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  Speaker 2: an old adage, what we resist persists. This couldn't be
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  Speaker 2: more true when it comes to pain. In the practice
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  Speaker 2: of meditation, countless difficult emotions, turbulent thoughts, and distractions can
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  Speaker 2: come up. With consistent practice, we get better at being
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  Speaker 2: able to turn toward these phenomena and work with them
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  Speaker 2: rather than react and push against them as we normally would.
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  Speaker 2: Over time, meditation trains and refines our ability to do
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  Speaker 2: the same thing in our lives. So that when something
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  Speaker 2: like pain knocks on the door of our consciousness while
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  Speaker 2: we're going about our life, mindfulness becomes the predominant response.
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  Speaker 2: Mindfulness is about getting intimate with whatever life brings. Whether
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  Speaker 2: it's feeling happy, experiencing pleasure or pain, it all belongs.
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  Speaker 2: Let's morph the deep breathing technique into what's called square
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  Speaker 2: breathing to further soothe the nervous system. Like a square,
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  Speaker 2: you'll inhale for two counts, hold, with your lungs filled
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  Speaker 2: for two counts, exhale for two counts, and hold for
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  Speaker 2: two counts, once your lungs are empty. Let's do it together. Inhale, one, two, hold, one, two, exhale, one, two,
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  Speaker 2: Hold one, two. Inhale one, two. Hold one, two. Exhale one, two.
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  Speaker 2: Hold one, two. Inhale one, two. Hold one, two. Exhale one, two,
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  Speaker 2: hold one, two, inhale one, two, hold one, two, exhale one, two,
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  Speaker 2: hold one, two. Continue at your own pace and feel
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  Speaker 2: free to extend your breaths out. to three or even
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  Speaker 2: four counts, if it feels good. Now, release the breathing technique.
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  Speaker 2: and notice any effects of that practice. The beautiful lotus flower,
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  Speaker 2: native to Asia and a classic symbol of mindfulness, only
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  Speaker 2: blooms in thick, muddy swamps. If you want to get
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  Speaker 2: a closer look at the lovely pink flower, you have
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  Speaker 2: to wade through the muck. There's no way around it.
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  Speaker 2: No mud, no lotus. For the next part of this meditation,
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  Speaker 2: that's what we'll be doing together. Turning toward the pain.
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  Speaker 2: Walking into the muck so we can enjoy and appreciate
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  Speaker 2: the beauty of life in all its variety. First, bring
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  Speaker 2: your attention to the muck. and start to dip your
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  Speaker 2: toe in. Where do you feel the pain or discomfort
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  Speaker 2: in your body? Next, acknowledge that this part of your
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  Speaker 2: body hurts. Acknowledge the pain you're experiencing without adding or
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  Speaker 2: taking anything away from it. And notice what that's like. Now,
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  Speaker 2: send a few gentle waves of care to those places
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  Speaker 2: in your body. Let the pain know that you see it,
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  Speaker 2: and that you are here with it. We'll call this
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  Speaker 2: part of the body the area of discomfort. Now, get
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  Speaker 2: a glance of the lotus flower in the distance. Find
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  Speaker 2: a part of your body that feels neutral. or even pleasant.
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  Speaker 2: Perhaps the bottoms of your feet, the palms of your hands,
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  Speaker 2: or the tip of your nose. Select one place to
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  Speaker 2: rest your attention for the time being. Observe the sensations
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  Speaker 2: that are present here and label them in your mind's
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  Speaker 2: eye as you become aware. Lightness. Warmth. Coolness. Pressure. Acknowledge
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  Speaker 2: that this part of your body feels okay. Maybe it
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  Speaker 2: even feels good. This part of your body we'll call
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  Speaker 2: the neutral area. Stay here a little while longer. We'll
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  Speaker 2: now begin titrating from the neutral area, the pleasant or
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  Speaker 2: neutral place in the body, back toward the pain or
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  Speaker 2: the area of discomfort. Instead of doing what you might
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  Speaker 2: initially feel drawn to do, ruminating about the pain, distracting
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  Speaker 2: yourself with thinking about something else, or giving up on
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  Speaker 2: this journey to the lotus flower altogether, tune in. Remind
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  Speaker 2: yourself why you put on this meditation tonight. Just as
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  Speaker 2: you did with the neutral area, label the sensations here
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  Speaker 2: in the area of discomfort. Of course, the neutral area
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  Speaker 2: is always available to you if the sensations in the
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  Speaker 2: area of discomfort become too much to bear. This is
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  Speaker 2: your body and your meditation, so listen to yourself and
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  Speaker 2: to what you need. But if it feels okay, notice
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  Speaker 2: what's present in the area of discomfort. Label sensations in
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  Speaker 2: the most objective way possible. Heaviness, sharpness, heat, aching, So
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  Speaker 2: stick to the raw sensations you're experiencing rather than what
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  Speaker 2: your mind is may be saying about the sensations. Now
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  Speaker 2: return your attention back to the neutral area. Notice if
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  Speaker 2: anything feels differently than the first time you visited here.
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  Speaker 2: Are there more nuanced sensations that you can become aware of?
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  Speaker 2: Observe and label the raw sensations that are present here. Now,
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  Speaker 2: let's go deeper and get even more curious about the
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  Speaker 2: area of discomfort. If the sensations of pain had a color,
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  Speaker 2: what color would they be? Can you identify the texture
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  Speaker 2: and weight of what's happening here? If the alarm of
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  Speaker 2: your nervous system starts to go off during this exploration,
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  Speaker 2: that's okay. Take a step back as if you're watching
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  Speaker 2: your experience from an outside perspective. You may like to
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  Speaker 2: take a few soothing deep breaths or a couple of
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  Speaker 2: rounds of square breath and then Come back to watching
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  Speaker 2: the sensations here. Now, travel to the neutral area and
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  Speaker 2: do the same deeper exploration. What color are the sensations here?
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  Speaker 2: Do they have a texture or a weight? Return to
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  Speaker 2: the area of discomfort now. Noticing anything new or different
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  Speaker 2: about this part of your body. How quickly are the
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  Speaker 2: sensations of pain moving? And where might they be moving to? Now,
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  Speaker 2: return to the neutral area. How have sensations evolved here? Next,
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  Speaker 2: become aware of the space between the neutral area and
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  Speaker 2: the area of discomfort. The space between the muck and
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  Speaker 2: the lotus flower. can you become aware that all of
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  Speaker 2: it is just sensation? The mind may come in with
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  Speaker 2: commentary about which sensation is bad and which is good,
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  Speaker 2: but at its core, all sensation just is. Can you
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  Speaker 2: sense the separation between the area of discomfort and the
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  Speaker 2: neutral area begin to diminish? Sense how, yes, you're standing
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  Speaker 2: in the middle of the mucky swamp. But now, the
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  Speaker 2: beautiful lotus flower is right in front of you. Tune
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  Speaker 2: into pure sensation without the I like this, I don't
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  Speaker 2: like that narrative of the mind. Nothing is good or bad.
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  Speaker 2: Everything just is good. Take a moment to appreciate the
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  Speaker 2: beauty of the lotus flower and the swamp in which
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  Speaker 2: it grows. This is the varied experience of life and
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  Speaker 2: of the body. As we begin to close this meditation,
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  Speaker 2: let go of any visualization and let your awareness wash
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  Speaker 2: over your entire body. Become aware of as much surface
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  Speaker 2: area of your body as possible. feeling the aliveness of
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  Speaker 2: your head, your neck, shoulders, and back, your arms, chest, belly,
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  Speaker 2: your pelvis, hips, legs, and feet. Your entire body. from
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  Speaker 2: head to toe, alive with sensation. Your body is a
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  Speaker 2: vessel through which so much energy, aliveness, and sensation flows.
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  Speaker 2: Open yourself to it all sleep well, and good night.
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  Speaker 1: Thank you for watching.
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  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
• 38:12
  Speaker 1: Thank you. Thank you.
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
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  Speaker 1: Thanks for watching!
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  Speaker 2: Thank you.
• 43:19
  Speaker 1: Thank you for watching.
• 43:48
  Speaker 2: Thank you. Thank you.