Comments on: Meditation and pain management http://www.wildmind.org Explore Meditation Online Fri, 10 Feb 2012 00:56:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Bodhipaksa http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-147832 Bodhipaksa Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:55:59 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-147832 Vidyamala is from New Zealand, Vinay. She has a Sanskrit name because she is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order. Vidyamala is from New Zealand, Vinay. She has a Sanskrit name because she is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order.

]]> By: vinay1 http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-147088 vinay1 Tue, 13 Dec 2011 16:27:47 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-147088 mam are you from india? your name seems to be an indian. mam are you from india? your name seems to be an indian.

]]> By: Vidyamala http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-146438 Vidyamala Sat, 10 Dec 2011 21:57:36 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-146438 Dear vinay I am very sorry t hear about your pain problem which sounds very difficult. Have you got access to pain medication? This can be very helpful alongside meditation techniques. In terms of meditation: the problem many of us have when in pain is tensing against it which just makes the pain worse. This is almost always accompanied by holding the breath in some way which again just adds to tension. So I would suggest doing meditations which encourage relaxation and relaxing the breath. In particular the 'body scan' available here: http://breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/shop/breathworks-guided-meditation-cds-and-downloads.html Good luck! In a few months we will have an online course ready which you may also find helpful, aimed especially at people seeking to manage pain and illness using meditation and mindfulness. If you keep an eye on www.breathworks-mindfulness.co.uk then you'll know when it is ready. Very best wishes to you vidyamala Dear vinay
I am very sorry t hear about your pain problem which sounds very difficult. Have you got access to pain medication? This can be very helpful alongside meditation techniques. In terms of meditation: the problem many of us have when in pain is tensing against it which just makes the pain worse. This is almost always accompanied by holding the breath in some way which again just adds to tension. So I would suggest doing meditations which encourage relaxation and relaxing the breath. In particular the ‘body scan’ available here: http://breathworks-mindfulness.org.uk/shop/breathworks-guided-meditation-cds-and-downloads.html
Good luck! In a few months we will have an online course ready which you may also find helpful, aimed especially at people seeking to manage pain and illness using meditation and mindfulness. If you keep an eye on http://www.breathworks-mindfulness.co.uk then you’ll know when it is ready.
Very best wishes to you vidyamala

]]> By: vinay http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-146195 vinay Fri, 09 Dec 2011 16:13:15 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-146195 hello mam. i am from india. iam 25 yrs. i hve been suffering from neck pain from last 4yrs. my pain is too worse that i cant even tolerate. its unresistable sometimes. i cannot walk for a long. now i am trying meditation for the last 1 month. but i am not getting what is the best method to do this mediatation. hello mam.
i am from india. iam 25 yrs. i hve been suffering from neck pain from last 4yrs. my pain is too worse that i cant even tolerate. its unresistable sometimes. i cannot walk for a long. now i am trying meditation for the last 1 month. but i am not getting what is the best method to do this mediatation.

]]> By: Vidyamala http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-118050 Vidyamala Wed, 25 May 2011 10:31:40 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-118050 Dear Nigel I apologise for not replying sooner but I was away. I am so very sorry to hear about your wife. It must be very hard for both of you to have this suffering thrust into your lives. I would recommend trying to find medication to get the worst of the pain under control and then trying meditation to work with relaxing around the pain as much as possible and to let go of some of the fight and mental and emotion struggles which inevitably accompany pain. I would recommend the body scan as the best place to start http://secure.wildmind.org/store/product.php?productid=330&cat=38&page=1 as this is the easiest meditation to do and very gentle. Then she could move onto the other meditations I lead on pain management available from wildmind. Let me know how you get on and very best wishes Vidyamala Dear Nigel I apologise for not replying sooner but I was away. I am so very sorry to hear about your wife. It must be very hard for both of you to have this suffering thrust into your lives. I would recommend trying to find medication to get the worst of the pain under control and then trying meditation to work with relaxing around the pain as much as possible and to let go of some of the fight and mental and emotion struggles which inevitably accompany pain. I would recommend the body scan as the best place to start http://secure.wildmind.org/store/product.php?productid=330&cat=38&page=1 as this is the easiest meditation to do and very gentle. Then she could move onto the other meditations I lead on pain management available from wildmind.

Let me know how you get on and very best wishes

Vidyamala

]]> By: Nigel Mance http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-116220 Nigel Mance Mon, 09 May 2011 09:36:37 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-116220 Dear Vidyamala, I wonder if you can help me please? My wife is suffering terrible pain from Trigeminal Neuralgia. I am trying everything I know to try to help and wondered if meditation might ease her pain? It breaks my heart to see her suffering so. She is 60 years old and until now has had an illness free life. She did suffer facial injury in a car accident 40 years ago but the doctors tell us that it could have no bearing on her illness now. I am not so sure? Please help. Dear Vidyamala,
I wonder if you can help me please? My wife is suffering terrible pain from Trigeminal Neuralgia. I am trying everything I know to try to help and wondered if meditation might ease her pain? It breaks my heart to see her suffering so. She is 60 years old and until now has had an illness free life. She did suffer facial injury in a car accident 40 years ago but the doctors tell us that it could have no bearing on her illness now. I am not so sure?
Please help.

]]> By: Vidyamala http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-109964 Vidyamala Fri, 11 Mar 2011 06:19:25 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-109964 Dear Graham Many thanks for your post. I do hope that your pain is gradually easing and that your spirits are also slowly lifting. One of the very difficult things about chronic pain is that it is invisible and so people can never know just how draining it is by looking at the externals of a person. You may be interested in reading my book availalbe on: http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/STSearch.do?searchTerm=vidyamala&searchDomain=author&selectedType=All+Products&searchPage=0&selectedComponentGroup=All&selectedItem=bestsellers&type=search and also there are CDs available from wildmind. This comes with heartfelt good wishes and thanks for writing Dear Graham

Many thanks for your post. I do hope that your pain is gradually easing and that your spirits are also slowly lifting. One of the very difficult things about chronic pain is that it is invisible and so people can never know just how draining it is by looking at the externals of a person. You may be interested in reading my book availalbe on: http://www.soundstrue.com/shop/STSearch.do?searchTerm=vidyamala&searchDomain=author&selectedType=All+Products&searchPage=0&selectedComponentGroup=All&selectedItem=bestsellers&type=search and also there are CDs available from wildmind.

This comes with heartfelt good wishes and thanks for writing

]]> By: Graham http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-107937 Graham Sat, 19 Feb 2011 13:30:39 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-107937 Dear Vidyamala. I am 57 years of age and 2.5 years ago suffered broken vertebra in a fall. My rehabilitation continues but I am in constant pain day and night, despite lots of prescribed drugs. The pain is not as severe as many I read about but sufficient to trouble me all the time. I have been given acupuncture and physiotherapy and all help relieve the pain but only momentarily. The point I find difficult to reconcile is that externally I look ok (apart from being thin and drawn) so people think I must be ok, but I feel very wretched and suffer with depression. It is thus quite difficult to try to "carry on" a "normal" life when it is such a struggle within. A cousin of mine has directed me to your writings and the hope that mindfulness and meditation may help me. I will explore this with interest and hope it helps. Many thanks Dear Vidyamala. I am 57 years of age and 2.5 years ago suffered broken vertebra in a fall. My rehabilitation continues but I am in constant pain day and night, despite lots of prescribed drugs. The pain is not as severe as many I read about but sufficient to trouble me all the time. I have been given acupuncture and physiotherapy and all help relieve the pain but only momentarily. The point I find difficult to reconcile is that externally I look ok (apart from being thin and drawn) so people think I must be ok, but I feel very wretched and suffer with depression. It is thus quite difficult to try to “carry on” a “normal” life when it is such a struggle within. A cousin of mine has directed me to your writings and the hope that mindfulness and meditation may help me. I will explore this with interest and hope it helps. Many thanks

]]> By: Vidyamala http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-83317 Vidyamala Mon, 12 Apr 2010 19:25:50 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-83317 Hi Tania I thought I had replied to your post but when I checked the site just now it seems I haven't. I am very sorry about that as my heart went out to you when I read your post. I hope you are not in too much pain as you read this. I know what it is like to feel like a prisoner in your own body - spine things are so central aren't they and seem to affect everything. I can only suggest that you have a go at meditation and calming the mind to see if this gives you some peace of mind. I like to think of it as learning to be 'with' the pain without adding anything through automatic reactions that just lead to more tension, unhappiness, anxiety etc. I also have learned to have a very structured day - using a timer when i work on the computer for example so I never work more than 20 mins. I have prepared a whole range of resources - CDs, a booklet on mindfulness in daily life etc, a bigger book and am just completing a distance learnign 'kit' so people can put themselves through an 8 week programme to learn mindfulness. If you are interested in this write back and I can send the details. Meanwhile, good luck with everything and thanks for writing! Vidyamala Hi Tania

I thought I had replied to your post but when I checked the site just now it seems I haven’t. I am very sorry about that as my heart went out to you when I read your post. I hope you are not in too much pain as you read this. I know what it is like to feel like a prisoner in your own body – spine things are so central aren’t they and seem to affect everything. I can only suggest that you have a go at meditation and calming the mind to see if this gives you some peace of mind. I like to think of it as learning to be ‘with’ the pain without adding anything through automatic reactions that just lead to more tension, unhappiness, anxiety etc. I also have learned to have a very structured day – using a timer when i work on the computer for example so I never work more than 20 mins. I have prepared a whole range of resources – CDs, a booklet on mindfulness in daily life etc, a bigger book and am just completing a distance learnign ‘kit’ so people can put themselves through an 8 week programme to learn mindfulness. If you are interested in this write back and I can send the details. Meanwhile, good luck with everything and thanks for writing!
Vidyamala

]]> By: Tania http://www.wildmind.org/applied/pain/comment-page-1#comment-82702 Tania Tue, 02 Feb 2010 04:07:59 +0000 http://test.wildmind.org/meditation-and-pain-management/#comment-82702 This sounds very intriguing. I am intense pain daily from the time I was 11 years old until now at 30... October of 08 I had a spine surgery called arthrodesis of the spine...long story short I now have 21 screws and 2 rods in my spine to correct very bad scoliosis. They had to break my back and cut away all the muscles from the spine to put it back where is was supposed to be. Now only to be left with all of this hardware in my back and discs going bad in the lumbar and cervical spine. I find it hard with the daily pain and medications that dont seem to help to cope taking care of three kids and a husband. It took me four months to learn how to walk again after this, and I still have problems with stability and holding onto stuff. The intense pain I feel everyday has left me to feel like a prisoner in my own body..I can no longer do a lot of things that I used to do and having trouble coping with that. Anything that I can do to alleviate some of this would be helpful. It really sounds like you understand what kind of pain I am in yourself having dealt with spine issues. Thanks for any help! This sounds very intriguing. I am intense pain daily from the time I was 11 years old until now at 30… October of 08 I had a spine surgery called arthrodesis of the spine…long story short I now have 21 screws and 2 rods in my spine to correct very bad scoliosis. They had to break my back and cut away all the muscles from the spine to put it back where is was supposed to be. Now only to be left with all of this hardware in my back and discs going bad in the lumbar and cervical spine. I find it hard with the daily pain and medications that dont seem to help to cope taking care of three kids and a husband. It took me four months to learn how to walk again after this, and I still have problems with stability and holding onto stuff. The intense pain I feel everyday has left me to feel like a prisoner in my own body..I can no longer do a lot of things that I used to do and having trouble coping with that. Anything that I can do to alleviate some of this would be helpful. It really sounds like you understand what kind of pain I am in yourself having dealt with spine issues. Thanks for any help!

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