5 Ways Adopting a Meditative Practice Can Help You Work Through Pain

Chronic pain exhausts you. It saps the joy out of daily life, making even pleasurable outings more problematic — you always have to wonder how long your spoon supply will last before your conditions make you cry, “hold, enough.” Could meditation help you work through pain?

Roughly 20% of Americans live with a chronic pain condition, often suffering in silence out of the fear of burdening others with their complaints. However real and valid your pain may be, you need to find realistic ways to manage it that let you enjoy a decent quality of life despite your challenges. Multiple studies suggest one of the benefits of mindfulness is helping you deal with your disability. 

Ancient wisdom offers solutions to this modern problem. Here are five ways adopting a meditative practice can help you work through pain. 

The Benefits of Mindfulness for Chronic Pain Patients 

If you have chronic pain, your doctor has undoubtedly suggested yoga as an intervention at some point. Many physical therapists focus on poses like the plank to strengthen the core muscles of those with chronic low back problems, for example. However, research also indicates that the benefits of mindfulness alone may help chronic pain patients. 

For example, one study of long-term Zen practitioners discovered that such individuals had increased activity in sensory-processing regions of the brain, like the insula and thalamus and reduced activation in areas like the medial prefrontal cortex, responsible for evaluating pain. Furthermore, these individuals reported a lower pain score when in a regular cognitive state, suggesting that the effects linger long after leaving the mat. 

The effect occurs even in those with only brief meditation experience. One study evaluated healthy volunteers who underwent 20-minute meditation sessions where they received training that their sensations were temporary and illusory. An application of noxious heat showed a 40% reduction in pain intensity and a 57% reduction in unpleasantness. 

Multiple studies show the benefits of mindfulness as an effective intervention for chronic pain patients. In addition to reducing pain perception, it can help you manage the comorbid anxiety and depression that so often accompany these conditions. 

Are There Any Cautions About Mindfulness and Pain?

While mindfulness benefits most chronic pain patients, you should proceed with caution if you practice independently instead of under the guise of a trained therapist. Some mindfulness activities, such as body scans, can spur rumination on your condition instead of healing. 

What should you do? The activities below offer several solutions. If using meditative techniques like deep breathing to work through pain isn’t helping you feel better, try something different. You might distract yourself with a sensory experience like enjoying a delicious snack or immersing yourself in nature. 

How to Use Meditation to Work Through Pain: 5 Techniques 

Here are five specific techniques to help you use meditation to work through pain. Please note that these interventions work differently for everyone. For example, you might want to stay away from exercises like mindfully eating a piece of chocolate if you struggle with an eating disorder. 

However, these are infinitely customizable. Play with these techniques, finding the most efficient way for you to use meditation to work through pain. 

1. Deep Breathing 

To understand how deep breathing works as a pain intervention, it helps to understand an inflammatory cascade. This occurs when your body detects illness or injury, meant to initiate the healing process by releasing various substances, including hormones like cortisol. Unfortunately, this keeps your body in an active, fight-or-flight mode that can increase pain perception. 

Deep breathing activates your parasympathetic nervous system, the side that tells you to rest and digest. It helps cool the burn by instructing your body to slow down the chemical storm. There are dozens of different patterns you can use, so choose the one that’s most effective for you: 

• Chest breathing: Lie on the floor and concentrate on the expansion and contraction of your breath as you inhale and exhale, shutting out all other distractions. 
• Abdominal breathing: From your chest, now begin to expand your abdomen as you inhale and exhale. You can also perform this exercise seated in your office chair with your hands crossed over your belly. Think of the rise and fall like ocean tides as you center your awareness on it. 
• Boxed breathing: This Navy SEALS technique involves inhaling for a 4-count, pausing for four, exhaling for a 4-count and pausing again with your lungs empty before drawing your next breath. 
• 2-to-1 breathing: In this pattern, you exhale roughly twice as long as you inhale. You can try variations like sighing through the mouth and smiling to increase positive energy. 

2. Restorative Yoga 

Restorative yoga began to help people recovering from illness or injury to heal, making it ideal for chronic pain patients. This practice focuses less on flowing through multiple asanas and more on holding individual poses — you may remain in some for up to 20 minutes if that’s what your body suggests. 

You might find this practice even more healing by including special rituals, like lighting soy candles or using a healing essential oil like eucalyptus or chamomile. Involve your faith if you like — there’s significant crossover between the healing art of yoga and other religions if you study history. 

Best of all, you might find it easier than ever to engage in your practice. There’s a world of yoga programming available for free on YouTube — type in “restorative yoga” and play around until you find an instructor you love. 

3. Using the Outdoors 

Nature has healing powers. Study after study suggests that people function at their best when surrounded by natural scenes instead of the harsh lines of today’s urban landscapes. 

Your ultimate healing escape? Carry your yoga mat to your favorite secluded natural location for meditation and deep breathing amid the trees. Doing so could boost your immune health, as studies on forest bathers show increased activity in vital killer cells for fighting infection. 

However, if that’s not possible, step outside for a bit. Take a walk around the block or set a timer for five minutes as you observe the birds’ antics around their feeder. Feel the sun on your skin as you produce natural vitamin D and raise your vibration through the power of nature. The warmth is glorious on achy, arthritic joints. 

4. Engaging Your Senses 

Have you heard of the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 exercise? It’s one way to quell a panic attack — or distract yourself from chronic pain. What do you do? Begin by naming five things you can see, followed by four you can touch. Follow with three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. 

You can also indulge a specific sense to distract you from your pain. For example, gazing at a beautiful natural scene or work of art can temporarily take your mind off your aching knee. For those who don’t have an issue with eating disorders, the mindful chocolate eating exercise can engage a happier sense of taste. 

Don’t overlook your chronic pain tools for reaping the benefits of mindfulness and meditation for working through pain. For example, the next time you use your heating pad, draw your awareness to the sensation of warmth gently relaxing muscle cramps. Breathe into the “fingers” of your massage pad. Can you be mindful with your TENS unit application? You betcha. 

5. Cultivate Gratitude 

Chronic pain patients hear the words “keep a positive attitude,” so often, they can have the opposite effect. It’s easy to say those words when you aren’t the one waking up with your back a white-hot ball of agony every day. 

However, gratitude is the perfect antidote to the type of positivity that can turn downright toxic over time by invalidating the reality of your situation. You aren’t pretending everything is hunky-dory rainbows and unicorns, but you are focusing on what’s right with your life. 

Do you have family members who love and support you even though pain makes you grouchy at times? Do you have meaningful work you can do despite your disabilities that gives you a sense of agency and purpose in life? If so, you are quite wealthy — direct your mental energy toward the good things about your existence instead of your pain. 

How a Meditative Practice Can Help You Work Through Pain

Chronic pain can significantly impact your quality of life. Learning to work through it with natural techniques can increase your overall happiness. Multiple studies suggest the benefits of mindfulness can aid in managing your condition and thriving despite it. 

Use the techniques above to use meditation to work through pain. You’ll feel more in control of your existence and live more comfortably and happily.