How to Practice Meditation for Natural Chronic Pain Relief?

 

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Do you ever feel crushed under the pangs of chronic pain? Here’s how meditation can help.

If you have a hard time finding lasting relief from chronic pain, you’re not alone. Alarmingly, 100 million adults in the US suffer from chronic pain. Worldwide, over 1.5 billion people suffer from pain that lasts for weeks, months, and even years.

First, let’s clarify the difference between acute pain and chronic pain. Acute pain is our body’s natural response to an injury. When we take a nasty fall, the strains, tears, breaks, and infections can cause immediate and intense pain that typically subsides once the injury heals.

Chronic pain, however, lasts much longer. It’s often felt at the location of a previous injury (but not always). It can last for weeks, months, or even years after the injury heals.

Getting pain management may not be as simple going to the doctor, either.

According to Dr. John D. Loeger, a neurological surgeon and pain expert, chronic pain is a complex phenomenon that involves biological, psychological and sociological or environmental factors dynamically interacting with each other. This makes diagnosing difficult and may explain why many treatments often leave us needing more.

Typical western doctors are not trained to give advice on patients’ lifestyles, relationships, social lives, careers, environment or mental states. Most doctors are trained to prescribe narcotic drugs, therapies, and surgery to address physical symptoms. These treatments are beneficial in certain circumstances but, as we now know, there are many other factors to consider.

Simply prescribing pain medication ignores the psychological, emotional, and social aspects of pain, and long-term dependency on pain meds – especially opiates – can wreak further havoc on a person’s mental and physical health.

The good news is that there are healthy ways you can minimize chronic pain that may prevent the need for surgery or harsh narcotics. Exercise, relaxation, and distraction techniques all help, but meditation can significantly improve the perception of pain in adults.

Research shows that meditation impacts our chronic pain in multiple ways:

1. It’s quick and powerful. A study by Wake Forest University showed that participants who practiced mindfulness meditation for three 20-minute sessions, spread over three days, had significantly reduced pain compared to other cognitive techniques that were used.

• It’s relief that lasts. In this same study, researchers discovered that patients’ who meditated had a reduction in their perception of pain even after the sessions concluded. That means pain can continue to decrease long after meditation is over.

• It’s more effective than distracting or relaxing alone. When compared with activities that distract our minds (like solving a math problem), or relaxing (like lying down on a sofa or listening to music), meditation rules the roost. A few minutes of sitting in meditation far outweighs the benefits of other cognitive pain relief techniques by a whopping 40%!

So, although meditation may not be a cure-all for chronic pain, it does provide meaningful relief that lasts.

But how does it work, exactly? Quite simply – meditation is a powerful stress and tension reliever. It helps the body relax, heal and release stored emotions, which may have a lot to do with chronic pain.

Meditation helps us two-fold:

1. It kicks long-held stress and tension to the curb. Meditation activates your body’s internal healing and relaxation mechanisms while allowing stored thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations to be released. When we sit to rest in meditation, our minds become busy with thoughts. That’s our body’s way of releasing old emotions and tension.

This is why it’s so important to allow the thinking process to occur and welcome your experience without judging or straining against it. When we take this welcoming approach in our meditation, the immune system, blood pressure, parasympathetic nervous system, and circulation are improved. Meanwhile, our muscles and fascia loosen to allow proper circulation.

• It rewires our brain to release pain. Meditating helps us create and reinforce positive neural connections in four areas of the brain used in pain processing: our primary somatosensory cortex, anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex and our prefrontal cortex. This drops our perceived pain intensity faster than you can say, “Let it all go.”

When we sit in an act of meditation, we feel happier, in less pain and in more control of our mind-body system. The best news is, it’s completely free, anyone can do it (including you) and it’s 100 percent natural with virtually none of the adverse effects of surgery and narcotics.

How to Practice Meditation for Natural Chronic Pain Relief?

An easy way to start is by spending five to ten minutes resting on a chair with your spine erect, feet on the floor and palms resting on your lap. Set a timer for how long you’d like to meditate.

With eyes open or closed, welcome everything in your experience. Thoughts, emotions, sounds, sensations and, instincts – all is OK. Your job is to simply notice what is, without trying to control any of it.

Your breath is an easy place to begin. Notice your inhale and exhales, as well as the spaces between each. Allow your breath to soothe you as you notice the physical sensations of your breathing.

Become curious about the rhythm, depth, and essence of your breath. After a few minutes, you may want to close your eyes and notice the sense of relief you feel. Continue with this gentle awareness for the next few minutes.

It’s as simple as that! Pick up this daily practice and your body and brain will surely thank you.

Watch this video – Healing Meditation For Pain Relief. 10 Minute Guided Practice

Written by Leah Santa Cruz

Author Bio:

Leah is a Meditation and Mindfulness Coach, who specializes in helping women in the workforce lead joyous lives. Her background in modern Psychology and neuroscience alongside trainings in ancient practices allows her to provide useful tools that actually work and are easy to integrate within a busy lifestyle.

Her mission is to help women uncover more love, joy, harmony and intimacy within themselves and with others, the foundation for all happiness. You can find out more about Leah’s meditation coaching here.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

The Best 10-Minute Meditation to Manage Your Stress Better

 

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When people hear the word meditation, what generally comes to mind is having to sit cross-legged for a very long time.

Most people tend to think of discomfort when they think of meditation, or that they just don’t have the time to fit it in. Now I’m not asking you to find 2 hours out of your day to meditate, but I am asking that you find 10 minutes in your day to sit quietly, with no distractions.

People often begin a meditation practice as a way to bring more stillness into their lives or address stress-related issues.

In a 2012 survey, 20 percent of Americans said they were experiencing extreme levels of stress. And while 64 percent said that it was “extremely important or very important to manage stress”, only 37 percent felt they were actually doing an excellent or very good job at managing theirs.

Stress activates our sympathetic nervous system, also known as our “fight-or-flight” system. Our heart rate rises, digestion shuts down and our body feels threatened by either internal or external factors.

Meditation is beneficial for stress as it helps to soothe our nervous system, or the “rest and digest” part of our nervous system, which helps with stress management. Our heart rate slows, our respiration slows and our blood pressure drops. This is often called the “relaxation response”*.

If we are constantly in “fight-or-flight” mode, this can have damaging effects to our health and body. Our parasympathetic nervous system, the “rest and digest” system, is where all healing takes place. It relaxes our body and is restorative for our health.

In fact, meditation has been proven to not only reduce stress, but to have other short-term benefits, as well.

A Harvard study showed that eliciting the body’s relaxation response could affect our genes in just minutes. They found that meditating (even just once) could dampen the genes involved in the inflammatory response and promote those genes associated with DNA stability. Short-term benefits would include lowering blood pressure, improving attention span and improving overall longevity.

There are many different types of meditation practices, but at the core of all meditation, the goal is to quiet the mind and focus on your breath. Paying attention to your breath is one of the best ways to get out of your head and into your heart.

So are you up for 10 minutes of meditation? You might be thinking, “10 minutes.

That’s it! I can do that!” It can actually be more challenging than we think! We can get so caught up in our thought process that it distracts us from calming down, breathing deeply and remaining present.

Speaking of breathing, we should pay more attention to our flow of breath on a day-to-day basis. It might sound strange, but it’s quite common for people to hold their breath without realizing it, and to get caught up in mundane things that cause their blood pressure to rise and anxiety to kick in.

What does this mean for your breath? It will become shallow and you will not effectively oxygenate your lungs and cells. And if you’re stuck at a desk all day hunched over your computer, your shoulders will start to roll forward and your neck and back will become rounded (not to mention stiff and knotty).

This position will actually compress the lungs. Sitting tall, with your shoulders rolled back and your spine lengthened will encourage you to breathe in and out more effectively.

So how do we breathe effectively? Easy!

1. Inhale deeply through your nose and extend your belly.

• Exhale through your nose and pull the belly button to the spine.

• Now inhale for 5 counts, extending the belly, hold for 5 counts, and exhale for 5 counts, pulling the belly button into the spine.

• As you get used to this exercise, lengthen your breath on the exhale for longer than 5 counts.

Now let’s tie in this breathing exercise with a simple breath meditation.

10-Minute Meditation

1. Sit comfortably on a chair with your feet flat on the floor, or cross-legged on the floor. Do whatever is most comfortable for you. If you have a meditation cushion, sit on that.

• Tuck it under your hip bones and let your knees fall lower than your hips.

• Lengthen your tailbone down to the floor; roll your shoulders back, softening them away from your ears.

• You may want to rest your palms on your knees or legs, either facing up or down. Do what is comfortable for you.

• Now breathe – using the simple technique above. Pay attention to your breath: how fast you’re breathing, how it feels to extend the belly, how it feels to exhale and let all your breath out.

• Focus on your breath for 10 minutes.

• Pay attention to your belly. Is it falling and rising naturally with the flow of your breath?

• There is a good chance your mind may be racing, going over your to-do list and all the work you need to get done. Or you may be thinking that you can’t do this, you’re uncomfortable, this is silly, etc. Breathe into any discomfort. Allow your breath to guide you.

• Slowly start extending your exhales through your nose.

1. Alternatively, on your exhale, breathe through your mouth and let out a gentle HA (literally say the word “ha”). Continue with this breathing for 10 minutes.

Take Your 10 Minute Meditation a Step Further

1. Envision a large air balloon being filled with all your thoughts, your to-do list, your self-limiting beliefs… empty them into this air balloon.

• Inhale deeply, fill the balloon and gently release the balloon into the sky, exhaling as you let go.

• Keep practicing this whenever a new story or thought decides to creep its way into your head. You’d be surprised how quickly 10 minutes goes by!

I encourage you to practice this exercise every day. Maybe you start your day with just 5 minutes and fill your balloon with all the amazing things you’re going to accomplish, your affirmations and all the things you’re grateful for.

You may not always have the opportunity to sit in stillness, but you can definitely pay more attention to your breath throughout the day and practice deep breathing exercises.

Practicing these simple meditation exercises can help you to manage your stress better, improve your cardiovascular health and allow you to have a deeper connection to your mind and body.

Watch this video – 10-Minute Meditation For Anxiety

Written by Samantha Gladish

Author Bio:

Samantha Gladish is the brainchild and fun loving foodie behind www.holisticwellness.ca. Focusing on weight loss and hormonal balance, Samantha coaches women all over the globe. From whole food nutrition, to strategic supplementation and using her Qualitarian approach, Samantha helps guide women to living happier and healthier. You can find her cooking up quality food on a regular basis or reading the latest health book.

Samantha is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Metabolic Balance Weight Loss Coach, Hormone Cure Coach and Author of The Qualitarian Life. She is also the creator and developer of the unique and popular line of all natural holistic dental products, including Salty Kisses Toothpaste™ and Hippie Floss Oil™.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook