Use this pain relief relaxation exercise for short-term or chronic pain to help reduce pain, get rid of pain, or make the experience more manageable even if the pain doesn’t go away completely.
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Introduction: Relieving Pain
The objective of this pain relief relaxation exercise is to decrease pain, or to help you cope with pain that is persistent. You can use this relaxation exercise for chronic pain or short-term pain to help reduce pain, get rid of pain, or make the experience more manageable even if the pain doesn’t go away completely.
Did you know that pain is experienced in the brain, no matter the type of pain or the location where the pain is felt in the body? Pain is a brain experience. This does NOT mean that pain is in your head or that you are responsible for your pain.
Your pain is not your fault.
Because real, physical pain is a brain experience, relaxation can help. If muscle tension is contributing to discomfort or causing pain, relaxation can help address the underlying cause and make the pain go away completely. If the pain has another cause, such as tissue damage, injury or nerve damage, relaxation can help to decrease the pain or to change your experience of pain so that it is not as distressing.
Ideally, this pain relief relaxation helps your pain to go away completely. Whatever the outcome, please remember that pain is not your fault. There may be things that you can do to help relieve your pain, and relaxation may be one of them. Pain is influenced by many factors, none of which make the pain any less real. Your experience is real and valid.
If the pain persists even when you do relaxation exercises, you can still experience the physical benefits of relaxation such as reduced muscle tension and lower blood pressure. You can also experience additional benefits such as a calmer mind. You might even have less pain later as a result of doing relaxation techniques.
There is no right or wrong way to relax, so most of all, be kind to yourself and remember that you are taking charge by doing this relaxation exercise. You are doing something to help your health, and you are taking action to relieve pain.
Let’s begin the pain relief relaxation exercise.
Pain Relief Relaxation Script
Start by getting as comfortable as you can. If you are able, lie down or sit in a supportive chair. Close your eyes, and take a few deep breaths. Nice and slow, breathe slowly in, and slowly out. Take another calm breath in, and out. One more deep breath in, and exhale completely. Keep breathing slowly like this. Allow the air you breathe to nourish your body and start to relax you.
Take a few moments now to just breathe.
(Pause)
Observing and Awareness of Pain
Now turn your attention to how your body feels. It can seem counterintuitive to think about the pain you are feeling. Naturally, we may want to flee from pain. Thinking about it is hard. You can do this.
We will keep this part short. Pay attention to the pain. Observe the pain, in as neutral a manner as you can. Avoid fighting the pain or trying to change it. Simply observe. Notice.
Be aware of the pain, and notice that you are handling it, because you are here. You are getting through this, even though pain is difficult and challenging.
Notice what the pain feels like. Just for a few moments, pay attention to the way this specific pain feels.
Where is the pain located? Imagine if you could draw a three dimensional outline around the pain. Where would the outline be located in your body? Is there one location or more than one? How defined are the edges of the pain? Is it clear where the pain starts and where it ends? Is the pain moving, or staying in the same place?
Take a moment to just observe, notice, and be aware of the pain you are experiencing in this moment.
(Pause)
Good. You did it.
This act of observing helps you cope. The pain becomes less powerful every time you face it and get through the experience. You handled it.
Now let’s change focus to pain relief.
(Continued)
The pain relief relaxation script continues in the video below.
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