Image for Relief and Control of Pain

Image for Relief and Control of Pain

This quick and simple visualization is used for chronic pain in hospice work but works well with any area of discomfort.

Many people who have existing pain naturally focus their mind on the area of pain and notice how it feels different to other parts of the body – light tense, different temperatures, etc.

The temptation is to resist it, wall it off or want to push it away, and this builds up more resentment and tightness.

In this exercise, you focus your mind on the pain, explore it and actually become more aware of what it really feels like.

Instructions:

1. Sit or lie in symmetrical position and close your eyes.
2. Relax as completely as you can by breathing in, tensing different parts of your body, then breathing out and relaxing them. Start with the head and with each breath move down until you focus on relaxing the feet.
3. Move your attention through the body, seeking out an area that feels different – painful, tight or under pressure.
4. Be aware of where the sensation is in your body, e.g. the tummy. Be as specific as possible, e.g. close to the skin, deep in the abdomen, in upper or lower region. Ask yourself, “Where is it?”
5. Be aware of its size. How long? How wide? How deep? What is its size?
6. Be aware of its density. Solid or light? Is it the same all the way through? What is its density?
7. What does it feel like? What is its surface texture? Is it soft and fuzzy, rough or hard and smooth? What does it feel like?
8. What temperature is it? Hot or cold or the same as everywhere else in your body? What temperature is it?
9. What colour is it? If this is vague, imagine what colour would it be. What is its colour?
10. Next, focus on your breath.

For three rounds of breathing, imagine drawing in the breath and imagine it as gentle healing water, energy or a colour that washes around the area you have identified.

As you breath out, imagine gently breathing out any tightness, toxins, pain or residual emotional problems from that area as a dark smoke.

For the next three rounds of breathing, imagine the breath is drawn inside the area identified; it washes around the inside, then any sickness or problems are breathed out as dark smoke with the exhalation.

For the final three rounds of breathing, focus on the breath again washing around the outside of the area and breathing out anything residual that needn’t be there anymore.

You can repeat this exercise, scanning the same area of pain, developing a very good image of the pain sensation. You will most likely find that the image of the area may change or the sensation will disappear or become less of a problem. You can repeat this as many times as you need to find relief. If another area of pain emerges, you can then repeat the same exploration of that area.

What you resist persists, what you accept can transform and heal.

You can also download the ‘Transforming Problems’, a visualization exercise that uses this technique with additional transformative steps or let Dekyi-Lee lead you through it by ordering the ‘Transforming Problems’ CD.click here

© Dekyi-Lee Oldershaw 2004