Stillness and Non-Judging
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Free Floating Awareness Meditation
This is one of the first meditation practices that I discovered for chronic pain. I have adapted it from Tinzen Young’s version and used it hundreds of time for myself and frequently with my clients as well. Free Floating awareness encourages you to look at your discomfort through a lens of safety which is an important element in healing.
Body Scan (Yoga Nidra)
An essential practice for anyone who has a body. This practice is perhaps the most researched element of Yoga and has been shown to have many health benefits such as managing immune function, blood pressure, cortisol levels and inducing restful sleep. Yoga nidra has been shown to be superior to other types of meditation for reducing anxiety.
Gunas Meditation
This is an incredibly valuable practice. It is a wonderful introduction to mindfulness but also enhances interoception. Interoception is the sense of ones body and it has been shown in research to reduce pain intensity in those suffering from chronic pain and augment self compassion. I assign this to nearly every chronic pain client at some stage of their program.
Dhyana Meditation
Pain Science tells us that when you have been in pain for awhile, you can have trouble feeling non-pain sensations in the body. This meditation is a gateway into a fuller spectrum of body feelings. developing interoception and accuracy in detecting sensations is an important step toward healing.
Breath Awareness
The foundation of all meditation and mindfulness practice is awareness of the breath. Though it may seem simple, this practice is quite profound and I encourage you to do it daily. At first you will need the recording, but after awhile you will be able to guide yourself independently through the practice.