Meditation: Calm, Untangling Physical Pain Length: 15 minutes Where: Home Office/Guest Room, Los Angeles How It Felt: Painful but interesting
I have a tension headache.
Right now. Right this minute. It’s been coming on since last night, and it hit me hard late this afternoon.
When I felt it coming last night, I immediately took a strong indica gummy, some CBD, and an extra-strength Tylenol, and did some majorly intense yoga before bed. Usually, I can get super deep into my muscles when I do this and work out the kinks causing the tension headache. I also spent some time on one of those pressure point balls, rolling it in all the knotty spots between my shoulder blades.
Today, I woke up feeling better if a bit sore. This afternoon I went to give blood, so maybe that affected it- no idea!- but shortly after I felt it creeping back.
I remembered seeing a few mediations for pain on the various apps, so I went searching for those. The Headspace one was pretty short, and I opted for the longer Calm meditation, “Untangling Physical Pain” with guide Shinzen Young. We focused on naming the four sensations (or something like that, it was hard to pay attention sometimes!) pain could bring- mental talk, images, emotional sensation and physical sensation.
If that’s not exactly right, it’s close.
So we would say, silently, “hear” when we noticed mental chatter, “see” when an image popped into our heads, etc.
We were also supposed to let the pain be, and if it spread, it would help it dissipate. I couldn’t really stand that after a few minutes, though, so I ended up back on my little pain ball.
Overall it was an interesting meditation and I’m sure I’ll try it again if the next time I feel pain, because I would like to get the lesson repeated until I can remember all the details. It did not lessen my pain, though I don’t think that was the point. I think the point was to examen your relationship with pain and with the reactions it provokes, and to consider the nature of impermanence.
Well, I feel strongly these things were said, in one way or another, but I can’t be 100% sure…
In conclusion, I still have a headache, though a similar treatment to last night’s is beginning to take effect. My sushi just arrived, and it might be early bed for me!
Wild Friday night! What can I say, I live that rockstar life!
My Year of Meditation 