Breathing into Pain

If you are experiencing pain that is either chronic or has come "out of nowhere," take a moment to breathe into it. Find a quiet spot away from any distractions. Lay down or sit in a comfortable position with your back straight, and take a few deep breaths. On the inhale, breathe in through the soles of your feet up to the top of your head. And on the exhale, breathe back down and out your soles. Breathe in comfort, space and warmth. Breathe out tightness and pain. Inhale. Exhale.

Once you have established a good relaxed rhythm, pause your attention at the site of your pain and introduce yourself to that long-lost friend. What does the pain want you to know? What is it trying to tell you? It could be as simple as needing to adjust your chair at work or as insightful as realizing that your back pain comes on when you are not feeling supported in your own life. Inhale. Exhale.

One reason the breath is used in so many forms of meditation, is that it is a bridge between the unconscious and the conscious mind. While we do have conscious control over it, i.e. we breathe, when we are sleeping you might say, we are being breathed. It is an unconscious involuntary mechanism. And it is in this interplay that great self-awareness can be explored. When we tune into pain in our bodies, mind or spirit, even if the message is buried deep within our unconscious Selves, with enough time, compassion and patience, we can learn to bring it to the surface so we may finally listen to what it has been trying to tell us for so long.

When we become more accustomed to tuning in to these messages in real time, we can actually prevent painful experiences from burying deep within us; we can undo those long-standing triggers so they simply become benign events. We have an experience; we step fully into it; we feel it with all our spirit; and we let it go. We get what we need to get, we get it now, and we move on.

We inhale. We exhale. The space in between is what we call Life.