Using meditation to help with pain relief

I’ve had many emails from people who have successfully used meditation to help with pain relief. I thought that this topic might be of interest to people who hadn’t thought of using meditation in this way.

Although meditation for pain relief has been being used for hundreds of years, it is only recently that it has become highly recognized as a great optional way to relieve various kinds of pain. Recent studies have proven that meditation for pain relief is a very powerful way to help relieve pain without the many side effects that are found in other methods such as drugs. Meditation for pain relief teaches the body to relax and to focus on things other than the present pain.

A study at the University of Manchester found that meditators have lower pain sensitivity – both in and out of meditative states – compared to non-meditators.

Dr Christopher Brown who carried out the research said the findings should encourage further research “Although meditators anticipate pain less and find pain less unpleasant, it’s not clear how meditation changes brain functions to produce these effects”.

Avoiding Potentially Harmful Drugs

One of the benefits of using meditation for pain relief is that it can help keep people from having to take pain relieving drugs that may have harmful side-effects. Some pain relief drugs can lead to addiction and can cause long term health problems. Meditation can provide pain relief that will help patients cut back on pain relievers and, in some cases, quit taking them altogether.

Relieves the Body’s Responses to Pain

Meditation for pain relief also has the benefit of relieving the various responses that the body has to pain. When pain occurs in the body, the body usually responds with adrenaline and the “fight or flight” reflex. When you learn to use meditation to relax, the body can help manage these responses and, in turn, help to alleviate the pain.

Turning the Mind from Pain

Meditation works to focus the mind on places and feelings other than what you are feeling at the current moment and this also works to help lessen pain . The feelings of pain are more than physical, they are both emotional and mental. Meditation for pain relief works by taking the mind and focusing it on something other than the of pain within the body. This helps to diminish the perception of pain that is being felt.

Reduction of Anxiety

Many people who suffer from pain have to deal with anxiety and elevated blood pressure as a result of the pain they are suffering. Often, the anxiety can actually increase the pain that they are feeling. Meditation helps to reduce the levels of anxiety and can help to bring down blood pressure as well.

Trying meditation for pain relief is worth a try. Not only can it help you deal with your pain, but it can also increase your health, mental and emotional well-being in many other beneficial ways too.

— Ivor Murray is the MD of MeditationsUK, an innovative company that sells technology-led aids to help you relax and de-stress. Their main products are Meditation Machines – small, portable machines that use natural light and sound to gently guide you into calm, relaxing states of mind and body, easily and automatically.

You can find out more about them at www.MeditationsUK.com or www.MindSpa-UK.com, or telephone 020 8371 0436