OnawaMiniya

Some of you know I've got several conditions causing chronic pain, some days so bad I'm on the brink of madness.

I have looked into and read on meditation before, and even practiced some, but not much.

I know this would be an awesome tool to have in my arsenal. And it couldn't hurt for the emotional pain in my life - resulting from the physical pain, and other things having nothing to do with physical pain.

I am good at calming myself when faced with insane situations. Good in emergencies. Level headed often times when I "should" be losing it. Have had to be strong. Have understood that panicking isn't going to help. Clearly, I'm not even close to perfect in this area, or my life would be better lol. But I find people turn to me when afraid, for example, because even when afraid I will fight like Hell to overcome my fear, knowing ultimately my fear is an enemy - if I allow it to rule me rather than make me stronger by facing it. I suppose this is the start of something like meditation, or a similar practice. Meaning, the mindful calming aspect. But I'm not quite "there" when it comes to meditating. I get distracted.

But I would love to be better! Particularly when physical pain is OVERWHELMING or when anxiety is OVERWHELMING...and I like to think I have a fairly high tolerance!

For those of you more experienced than I, do you have any tips, recommendations of any kind, etc? Anything that helped YOU when working this practice into your life?

Thanks much.

Hope you are well.

Peace.

LifeRecovery

I took a classed called Mindfullness Bases Stress REduction.

It was created as the first collaboration between meditation and the health care system in the US by Jon Kabbat Zinn. It is an eight week course that I learned a lot from.

He has a variety of books about it (Full Catastrophe Living goes along with the course). I found one near me when I did a google search, but they also have the on line.

OnawaMiniya

Thanks for responding. I was just reading about that a little bit! Did you like it? Rather, what did you like in particular? Was it a good place to start for you (if applicable)?

Peace.

LifeRecovery

I LOVED the instructer so that made a big difference for me.

I loved that it was a class. I got to meet people and I got to hear how it was impacting them....the challenges, the relief. We had a woman in the class who was young, but had been struggling with digestive concerns for the last number of years....this class really helped her. I think what I mean by that was that I was not going for physical concerns, but I got to see that it made a difference.

The instructer fully believed in what she was doing, and she practiced what she preached.

Finally I needed a meditation course at the time that DID not have a religious overlay. I was struggling with my own religious demons and I did not want to confuse myself any longer. This class met my criteria.

I had previously taken a class online/phone for work on mindfullness, and was impressed with it. If I had not found one in person I probably would have done it online.

OnawaMiniya

Thank you so much!

Peace.

cgfox

I practiced Tai Chi a few years ago and it definitely helped with the anxiety (but if you're in physical pain, even though it's really, really soft and slow -it's still making you move).
I've been thinking about taking classes again, but where I was living they only had one slot and I had a class in college to go to that night.
Anyway, friends recommended yoga but it always seemed too much. Tai Chi is a really nice way to relax, and forget about everything around you.

OnawaMiniya

I've got some limited knowledge on tai chi, thanks for reminding me of it. I know a decent amount about Pilates with a touch of yoga lol, but tai chi is much more gentle.

Especially for start.

Thank you I had forgotten about that.

Peace.

foolsgold66

I ran across this the other day, Headspace | Guided Meditation & Mindfulness App | Headspace

AnvilheadII

I've never been able to master meditation...so I find other things that help calm and center me.....I've taught myself how to ENJOY a hot soaky Epsom salt bath.....I've become an audiobook fiend....while my mind is not QUIET, it is at least focused and removed from the jumble of thoughts. I've learned to slow down, to allow myself to NOT do stuff at least for a period of time, to take days off, to schlepp about in jammies, catch the occasional silly romantic comedy......to sometimes sneak back into bed with the pups once hank leaves for work at 6am, to indulge in decadence.

I've also changed up my diet BIG time, with the (expensive) help of a naturopath specializing in women's health....I've lost 20 pounds since august and kept it off and I eat way healthier and I consistently make healthy food choices. because I have bad knees and shoulders and wrists that can't handle a lot of stress, I've adapted exercises that work within my limits. it's slow going but it's also working!!

honeypig

Just as an aside, yoga can be as gentle or as active as you wish. There are even yoga practices for those who are bed- or wheelchair-bound. This past summer, I tried a few classes of what is called "yin" yoga, which involves holding postures while supported with bolsters, blankets and other props. "Restorative" yoga is similar to this also, with many reclining and/or supported poses. Googling yin yoga, restorative yoga, yoga for chronic pain, and gentle yoga will all give you a lot of information/suggestions.

Lilias Folan is a wonderful teacher who you might want to look into--an older lady with a warm and welcoming manner who I know has DVDs focusing on this type of yoga also.

If you have Netflix, it's a great way to try out yoga DVDs before actually purchasing any; your local library is another.

I know that meditation can help with both physical and emotional pain, but for me, joining that meditative consciousness with the physical movements of yoga (and yoga is sometimes referred to as "moving meditation") works much better than meditation alone. YMMV, of course.

Back to your original discussion--just wanted to chime in w/this info.

LifeRecovery

Oh thanks Honey for reminding me why I liked the mediation course I took.

Two of the four CDs that you get when you join the class are movement based meditations.....I much prefer those.

SparklingSeven

To the outsider it can look quite relaxing but it's generally anything but.

It's very easy t become disheartened early on by biting off more than you can chew. What's more about important than the length of time spent meditating is the regularity of practice. Its far better to sit for 5 minutes every day than for an hour solid once every 10 days.

With that in mind, choosing and committing to a daily routine that you KNOW you can stick easily to is a good way to go. Even if that is only 2 minutes per day initially, for example. As time goes on and you become more used to sitting this can be increased as and when, bearing in mind and that whatever your minimum commitment is, you should stick to.

The final time spent and number of sittings depends on what type of meditation you choose to go with and may not require you to sit EVERY day, but in general you will be sitting at least 5 or 6 days a week.

Chantal88

The key to meditating is to meditate every day. You are only going to see real results when you make it apart of your routine.

I usually use calming music of some kind. I am really into Native American flute music, but guided meditations usually work really well too.

Sometimes it helps to read something really inspiring before meditating. Like something spiritual or heart felt. Personally when I meditate, it's a very deep meditation with visuals, kind of like a dream. So I like to write down what I see in my meditation after I'm done.

FireSprite

Another vote to try restorative yoga!

I took a class weekly that was 90 mins long, the first 10 was a gentle warm up, a full hour of yoga & he welcomed input from everyone about problem areas & limitations, then would walk around class & help people adjust their pose around their problem areas. The last 20 min was a short meditation in corpse pose. At that point my body would be so wrung out & my mind calm from paying such intent focus to my body for the last hour that I found it easy to sink into the meditation.
He basically ran us through a body scan from toes to the crown of our heads, telling us to "let go... Let go.... Let go...." Of every little knot of tension. After a few months of classes, i found it easier & easier to reach that same level of mental relaxation because i had an understanding of what i was aiming for mentally... So I could use the technique often and i understood & was more receptive to other meditations I've run across since.