CD Review: Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief

Although the purpose of meditation is not to relieve pain, it often does. I suppose you could call this a beneficial side effect. In Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Relief: Guided Practices for Reclaiming Your Body and Your Life, Jon Kabat-Zinn shares meditation practices that were developed at Massachusetts General Hospital’s Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Clinic. Over 30 years of research has demonstrated the effectiveness of medication for many conditions such as blood pressure, stress and pain relief.

This CD set includes two discs. In the first, Kabat-Zinn explains how and why meditation works and gives a soothing pep talk for those ready to try this for the first time. He outlines the seven principles that underlie mindfulness:
1. “As long as you are breathing, there is more right with you than wrong.”
2. The power of the present moment is a resource that is often overlooked.
3. The present moment isn’t always to our liking. That’s true whether you have chronic pain or not. Most of us spend a lot of energy distracting ourselves from the present.
4. The common two ways to deal with the present are to turn away from it through escape activities or to obsess on it and feel victimized.
5. A third way is to open to and befriend current experience to the degree you choose.
6. Whatever is happening, have kindness and compassion toward oneself. And suspend judgment, which contracts the mind and body and compounds pain and suffering.
7. The purpose is to not make anything go away or fix something. It is simply to find a respite through non-doing so life’s natural propensity for change and healing can take its course.

If you’re already familiar with the history and effectiveness of mindfulness practices, you might be tempted to skip to the second disc and that’s OK, but the first one is quite interesting.

The second disc includes several meditations of varying lengths, starting with a simple, short breathing meditation and one 18 minute practice. Even if you’re not the type to sit still with hands folded in your lap for any length of time, I think the way it is presented is a good start for anyone who is coping with chronic pain.

In The Pain Chronicles, Melanie Thernstrom tells of Franz Mesner who was able to tranquilize patients with his voice, which coined the term “mesmerize.” Jon Kabat-Zinn’s voice has this quality. Just by listening to the CDs, without even doing the meditations, I dropped into the calm, soothing nature of his voice and let go of a layer of stress.

Body Gratitude Meditation

Most of us take our bodies for granted. During the holiday season this is even more true as we have less time for exercise, more activities that add stress, and a banquet of poor eating choices available at every turn. The following meditation will give your body the recognition it deserves and create a sense of calm and empowerment.

Turn your attention inward and breathe.

§ Notice your breath. Your lungs take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide over 15,000 times every day. Thank-you, lungs.

§ Your heart beats about 100,000 times every day of your life. Thank-you, heart for keeping me alive.

§ Life-giving oxygen is carried from the lungs and heart through hundreds of miles of blood vessels to nourish every cell. All without conscious thought. Thank-you.

§ Your bones not only give you structure, but the marrow inside makes all your blood cells. Talk about a multi-tasker. Thank-you, bones.

§ The ligaments, muscles, and connective tissue create your shape and make it possible for you to move. Each part conforms to how you use it. I’m glad for my movement.

§ The skin is the largest organ of the body, about 20 square feet, and is the first line of defense in protecting us from the outside world. Thank-you, skin.

§ The immune cells further this protection and fight disease and cancer on a daily basis. The colds we get are few compared to the number that have been detected and eliminated already. I appreciate my immune system.

§ Lymph is the highway for the immune system. This silent transportation network reduces inflammation and keeps us healthy. I am grateful.

§ Seven glands secrete the hormones that create a finely tuned symphony of chemical messages and function. You are beyond my comprehension, but I appreciate you nonetheless, endocrine system.

§ The organs (in addition to the skin): liver, stomach, intestines, pancreas, kidneys, bladder and more work in ways I can’t fathom, but also can’t live without.

§ The brain and billion nerves in the body tie function together with a network that coordinates the other systems.

Express gratitude for each part. Every second of every day, they work in concert with precision and artistry while we’re busy navigating traffic, surfing the internet, chomping down fast food, or daydreaming. For a few minutes I will recognize the miracles needed to keep me alive.

Free Form, Undulation of the Week

The Free Form undulation is an empowering, body-focused meditation that teaches you to look, feel, and hear inside so your body can lead movement. The benefits include release of sore spots, better body awareness, and learning that your body knows what it needs and how you can provide it.