Mindfulness and Migraines

[Metaphysical Me]

Larorra - that sounds like you really were being compassionate on yourself - well done!!
I find that if I'm feeling to ill/ tired/ miserable to do a "proper" meditation, then doing a guided meditation can also be a great way to "cheat".
Sometimes it's possible to get benefit from a guided meditation, even if you don't have it in you to do an un-guided one...
But of course, sometimes not even a guided meditation feels right!
XXX

[betty.etal]

Jackie - seems to me that you did the most compassionate thing you could. Even my meditation teacher says that if sitting with the pain or difficult state is unproductive, to do something else!

Janey - Isn't trying to go from being at war with the pain to being at peace with it a bit of a stretch? I don't think that mindfulness requires you make best friends with it, simply that you accept that it's there in the moment and sit with it without pushing it away. I don't think I could ever make peace with migraine type pain!!!

For anyone struggling with pain, I've been working with it a lot lately, and here's a few things that have helped, in case they help anyone else:

1. Doing Jack Kornfield's guided LovingKindness practice from his Guided Meditations for Self Healing download is really helping me to actually feel compassion for myself. The compassion is now starting to flow sponataneously through into my practice when I'm sitting with pain, and it really helps to make the "I'm here for you" phrase I wrote about above real.

2. I've found that when the pain is severe, walking meditation is much easier for me to do than sitting with the breath. I'm not sure why, but it's much easier for me to walk with pain than sit still with it.

3. I've also found it is very important to bring mindfulness (including of course compassion) to any thoughts that are around not wanting to accept the pain/wanting it to go away. If I don't add the additional layer of judgment onto the pushing away, and simply observe it with mindfulness, sometimes (not always!) I'm able to bring more mindfulness to the actual pain.

4. I found that I was measuring my progress based on whether or not the pain was less at the end of the session - a dead give away that I wasn't being the slightest bit neutral and was actually sitting with to make go away! Bringing compassion to that when I see it during or between meditation sessions has helped.

5. The other day when the migraine pain was bad, I alternated 20 minutes walking with 20 minutes sitting with 20 minutes resting for a couple of hours, and that really helped me.

Betty

[Metaphysical Me]

Hey Betty, yep, you're absolutely right - aiming to be "at peace" with pain is a big ask...

I guess I'm not very good at finding a balanced "middle ground" as far as illness and pain goes...

Well, I have plenty of opportunities to practise on this particular issue!

Thank you for your excellent comments on this issue - very insightful!!

XXX

[betty.etal]

I've been exploring the threads on the peace in a frantic world book, and came across a link a teacher posted to a meditation on working with difficulties. I like the way the 20 minute practice guides you into a centered place from which to explore, and then guides you into the difficult sensations (I didn't actually follow it exactly as it has you think of a difficult situation, but I already had so much sensation I decided not to add to it, you can simply use it to explore what sensation is already there). Maybe it would give you a different spin an allowing the sensation - she talks about creating space for it, which I liked. It's at http://sdrv.ms/1bFFU3D

This forum is a great source of books and websites for inspiration and help. :0)

Betty