This image from this reference book shows that we have too many nerves to count and that our nervous system is sophisticated. People living with persistent pain have up-regulated nervous systems. If their pain messaging system had a dial it would be turned up to high. An ache that should have resolved months or even years ago may still be registering as pain. Gentle touch that means nothing to my nervous system may send electrical jolts of pain through theirs. Breathwork is a tool in the pain management arsenal because it targets the nervous system, this interconnected series of messaging pathways.
The recordings of six breathwork exercises are below. They are intentionally short so that you can learn them and do them yourself. Consider them a soft launch into mediation and breathwork for pain management.
The first one asks you to Breathe into the pain. Our brain works predictively, this means that it can anticipate our needs and meet them as they arise. This is helpful when it signals the stomach to produce digestive juices when we chew. It is not helpful when it registers that bent knees normally cause pain and so sends these messages - whether they are needed or not. By paying attention when we feel pain we start to break up this pain messaging habit. We give the brain up-to-date input so that it can rewrite the automation it has in place. It is also an opportunity to notice pain with curiosity instead of fear. This exercise also allows for the option to breathe into a pain-free area for times when your pain is too intense to engage with.
The second is called Rainbow breathing. The goal for this exercise is to lengthen the breath. By mimicking the way we breathe when sleeping or when very relaxed the nervous system receives the signal that the body is safe so cortisol and adrenaline do not need to be produced. Pain’s number one purpose is to keep us safe, when we breathe slowly we let our brain know that extra protective mechanisms are not needed.
The third is called Take your inner child by the hand. Adverse childhood experiences contribute to persistent pain. This short exercise is a chance to give your inner child the love they deserve. It is a chance to watch your younger self look up at you in wonder, amazed at how far you have come. This is permission to your nervous system to let go of the constant vigilance that started in childhood.
The fourth exercise is called Watch the pain float away. This is an imagery exercise to add to a pain management tool box. Creating distance, such as watching the objectified pain float away from the body makes the pain changeable. It offers a momentary experience of pain leaving the body. It illustrates that our pain perception is formed in the brain.
The fifth is a longer exercise called Change your pain and is a form of self efficacy training. It aims to modify pain perception; change the perceived permanence of pain and prevent catastrophising. Looking to the future stops pain from being your primary focus and brings awareness to functional goals instead. This exercise reminds you of the quality of life changes that you are working towards.
The final exercise is called soften and relax. It focuses attention on the breath’s journey through the body. As it reaches each body part you are encouraged to soften and relax. This exercise sends home the message of safety that we need to keep reinforcing. The more often the nervous system registers that it is safe, the easier it will be to rewire the protective pathways of pain and the easier it will be to turn the pain dial down.
I encourage people to listen to the same recording three to five times over a week before moving on to the next one. If any of them don’t work for you or don’t apply to you, skip them and try the next one. Good luck.
P
xx
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