Wellness: June Mindful Minute
Experiencing pain can be both physically and emotionally exhausting. The common treatments of pain medication or other coping methods are largely based in being reactive to the pain, moving away from it as quickly as possible. However, being mindful to your pain and allowing yourself
to fully experience it can actually change the way your mind perceives it. For anyone suffering from chronic or acute pain, this can be a real game changer. The following practice can be used in painful moments to help you start to redefine your relationship with pain.
1. Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
2. Deepen your breath and come into the present moment.
3. Draw your attention to whatever it is you are labeling as pain. Explore your pain. Notice that it is many different, ever-changing sensations, not one solid experience. Try to observe these sensations instead of getting too caught up in your thoughts or emotions related to “pain.”
4. Move towards the pain with a kind, gentle attitude, letting go of any resistance to it as best you can. This is counterintuitive, but if you try to ignore it or push it away, it will just scream louder. Use deep breaths to help. Treat your pain as you’d treat an injured loved one. See if you can find a tender attitude.
5. Once you have gently acknowledged the pain you can extend your awareness to look for any pleasure that is also going on in the moment. Notice experiences such as a gentle breeze, the company of a loved one, etc. There will always be something pleasurable in your experience, no matter how subtle. Let the pain be just one of several things you are aware of in the moment.
Allowing yourself to observe the sensations of your pain with care and concern (instead of succumbing to denial, fear or other negative emotions) and then becoming equally mindful of pleasant things happening in the present moment will allow you to better cope with the experience of pain.
Adapted from mindful.org and CBIZ Wellbeing Insights June 2017
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