Managing Pain Meditation

Many people deal with physical pain on a regular basis. It can be hard to function when one's body is feeling such discomfort. The good news is that something can be done about this. It starts with learning about aligning the mind to help heal the body, through positive visualization, stress reduction through meditation, addressing anxiety or depression with coping strategies, and removing negative thoughts/associations/beliefs that have been received by the body and are manifesting as illness/pain. Some questions to consider in examining the roots of this are: - What negative beliefs do I hold about myself that may be contributing to my symptoms? - What “blocked” emotions may be contributing to this physical illness, especially as connected to relationships with others? - Who have I not forgiven (including myself)? There are many studies that show that working with the subconscious mind (especially through hypnosis) can help with medical conditions. One study (Check and Lecron, 1968) showed that “reducing emotional intrapsychic conflicts associated with one’s health and illness can be worked through with hypnotherapy,” and another study (Hall, Longo and Dixon (1982) indicated that the “capacity of hypnotic suggestion to modulate the function and activity of the immune system by changing the number and response capacity of T and B cells.” (Torem, 2007) One can learn self-hypnosis to manage discomfort with: disassociation (imagery of a peaceful place), visualizations for pain control (turning down a dial or closing a gate), glove anesthesia (imagining your hand as numb and putting your hand on the discomfort), metaphors/symbols/imagery (like going through a tunnel) to “talk to the pain.” I am delighted to offer a Managing Pain meditation to offer you some strategies and visualizations that help with discomfort you are experiencing in your body. I hope it is helpful in some way. ---- Merging the spiritual with the real world, Rachel Horton White helps people release negative patterns in their lives, wit