Meditations to improve well-being in chronic illnesses
1. Mindfulness Meditation for Pain Awareness
Focus on observing sensations in the body without judgment, this can help reduce emotional distress related to pain. Instead of resisting, fighting or even ignoring the pain, mindfulness encourages acceptance, which can help reduce the overall sensation of pain over time.
2. Breath Awareness for Stress Relief
Practicing deep, slow breathing (also diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing) can stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, and will lower stress and tension in the body.
3. Guided Imagery for Healing
Guided imagery involves visualizing a peaceful or healing place. This helps shift the mind’s focus away from physical discomfort and fosters a sense of calm and safety.
4. Body Scan Meditation for Awareness and Relaxation
Body scan meditation involves mentally “scanning” each part of your body, observing any sensations or tension. This can facilitate relaxation, potentially alleviating discomfort.
5. Loving-Kindness Meditation for Emotional Resilience
Loving-kindness meditation involves sending positive wishes toward yourself and others. It can improve mood, reduce stress, increase empathy, and promote emotional resilience in the face of chronic illness.
6. Acceptance and Commitment Meditation
This encourages accepting pain or discomfort as part of your experience. It helps shift focus from trying to control the pain to living a fulfilling life despite it.
7. Visualization for Symptom Management
Here you might imagine your pain or illness as a visual object (like a dark cloud), and visualize it slowly dissipating or changing into something less intense.
8. Gratitude Meditation for Mental Shift
During gratitude meditation, you reflect on things you’re grateful for, which can improve your mood and overall outlook, often making the burden of chronic illness feel lighter.
9. Progressive Muscle Relaxation for Physical Relief
It can help alleviate muscle tension, which often accompanies chronic pain, and promote physical and mental relaxation. This can be done as a dynamic meditation also.
10. Meditation with Sound, or Mantra/Sound Healing.
Repeating a soothing phrase or listening to relaxing sounds can help reduce anxiety and improve mental focus.
Practice the meditation that speaks to you, creatively make it yours.
Any information provided in writing, audio, group seminars and individual consultations (phone, internet or in person), is not intended to be a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please consult your medical professional adviser for that. Claudia Wenning, PhD NM, is a Traditional Naturopath and Functional Medicine Practitioner, not a medical Doctor, and does not diagnose or treat diseases, or prescribe medicine. The information, services and products offered are meant as lifestyle enhancement tools and not to be misunderstood as medical, psychological advice, diagnosis or treatment. She is not licensed toaccept or bill health insurance companies. The material on this site is copyrighted (all rights reserved). No part of this website may be reproduced or transmitted by any means without the written permission of Claudia Wenning. Quantum Level Transformation®- QLT® and Quantum Level Health ™ are registered or trademarked. All photos are by Claudia Wenning, public domain or marked with name of owner. By exploring this website you agree to all the above.
