Meditation for Lupus
Meditation for lupus pain is not dissimilar to breathing techniques for labor pain. Meditation will help you cope and feel less pain, and may even prevent a flare from coming on due to less lupus stress held within you.
But it is not a miracle painkiller. They don’t always tell you this when you learn a meditation technique, but lupie to lupie, I will tell you the truth.
Meditation will relax your body and muscles, which brace and tighten up when in pain, affecting everything including blood flow throughout your body and organs. It will change your focus from being solely on the pain, and fear of what health crisis this could all bring about, to a focus on that inner part of yourself not being fueled by fear and the endless what ifs.
Meditation is about silencing the mind and quieting the body. In that silence there is some peace.
In this way, meditation is a viable way to seek relief for lupus flares and the pain that accompanies them. I am a positive person, despite what I live with. But, I am also a realist.
Don’t expect a cure, or to never feel the pain again. I suggest this option merely as one of the ways you can help yourself to hurt less and maybe avoid a flare.
Meditation Tips
- It takes time. Ever read Eat, Pray, Love? Well, in the book author Elizabeth Gilbert is very honest about how hard it is to meditate. So be gentle with yourself — don’t expect to instantly be able to quiet your mind. Meditation is called a practice and this is completely true of its nature. It takes time and dedication to get to the point where you experience true stillness in your mind, body and soul.
- You can’t fake your way through this. If you are sitting there, legs crossed and candles lit, but are thinking of your next doctors appointment or the fact that you forgot to buy milk, well, you are not meditating. Going through the motions does not create meditation success.
- You can find free meditation guides online that will talk you through the process of clearing your mind of thoughts and finding a focus. Eckhart Tolle, for example, has free guided meditations on YouTube that include pictures or photos to focus on as he talks you through a meditation. If you don’t like him, there are many others out there to choose from. Some yoga studios offer group guided meditation classes as well.
- Drink plenty of water. Simply put, flush out the mind and the body. Repeat as necessary.
I believe feeling less pain and limiting the grasp lupus has on my body is obtainable on some level through what I put into my body and what I allow myself to hold onto inside. Stress can be a killer. If I can let go of my focus on the pain through meditation, it is worth the time and effort it takes to master it.