Abstract
The book talks about mindful meditation, a technique that teaches you how to overcome stress and cope with pain. The eight-week mindfulness meditation program requires only 20 minutes a day, but it can bring back the fullness of life even in the presence of chronic pain. Mindfulness meditation is also effective for those who are prone to anxiety and insomnia.
The authors of the book are Vidyamala Birch, co-founder of a global mindfulness meditation company, and Danny Penman, Ph.D. in biochemistry, a science journalist.
Chapter 1
At night and in silence, the pain seems to be stronger. Even painkillers do not always help, and I want to do anything to make it subside. Not only the body suffers, but also the mind when we unsuccessfully try to find a way out and ask ourselves questions saturated with tension. What happens if I don’t get better? What if it gets worse? It’s unbearable…
We have written a book to help you deal with pain, illness and stress. You will learn how to gradually alleviate suffering and return to normal life. You may not get rid of the pain completely, but it will cease to dominate, and you will understand that you can live in peace with yourself and enjoy life.
We know this from our own experience: both had severe injuries at one time, and we used an ancient form of meditation — mindfulness — to alleviate the suffering. The effectiveness of the techniques described in this book is confirmed by doctors and scientists around the world. Mindfulness meditation is so effective that doctors and specialists in pain clinics now refer patients to our Breathworks center in Manchester and to courses taught by our trainers around the world. Every day we help people find peace in spite of suffering.
Mindfulness-Based Pain Management (MBPM) is the result of the inspiring work of John Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center in America. The MBPM program itself was developed by Vidyamala Birch, co-author of this book, to deal with the effects of two serious injuries. Although this approach was originally aimed at eliminating physical pain and suffering, it is also effective in dealing with stress. Numerous clinical studies have confirmed that the basic mindfulness meditation technique is at least as effective in relieving stress, anxiety, and tension as medication or psychological help. When it comes to pain, research has shown that mindfulness techniques are as effective as prescription pain relievers. And according to some reports, it is as strong a remedy as morphine. Computed tomography studies have confirmed that this technique “calms down” the brain patterns responsible for pain, and over time, these changes are fixed and change the structure of the brain itself, so the person feels pain less intensely. But if it does appear, it no longer dominates the patient’s life so much. Many people report that their pain eases so much that they hardly notice it.
Pain clinics teach mindful meditation to patients to help them cope with the pain that comes with a range of conditions, including cancer (and the side effects of chemotherapy), heart disease, diabetes, and arthritis. This method is also used for back problems, migraines, fibromyalgia, celiac disease, autoimmune (skin tuberculosis and multiple sclerosis), and chronic diseases (including chronic fatigue syndrome and irritable bowel syndrome). Mindfulness meditation skills are useful for women during childbirth. In addition, clinical studies have confirmed that mindfulness meditation is good for anxiety, stress, depression, irritability and insomnia, which often result from chronic diseases. The list of problems that mindfulness helps to cope with is constantly growing.
Benefits of Mindful Meditation
There are 6 video lessons in the course. View >>