How to practice Pain Scan Meditation
This article explains how to practice Pain Scan Meditation.
What Is Pain Scan Meditation?
Pain Scan Meditation is an advanced technique that involves observing pain in order to understand how the mind works and achieve complete inner peace.
If you are a beginner, it is recommended that you master Body Scan Meditation before practicing Pain Scan Meditation.
Benefits of Pain Scan Meditation
Pain Scan Meditation helps achieve complete inner peace free from all negative feelings.
For more details, please see the following articles:
Basics of Pain Scan Meditation
When practicing Pain Scan Meditation, focus on these three elements simultaneously:
- Sit down with your eyes closed
- Maintain deep, steady breathing
- Observe your pain
Below, we will explain each of these steps in detail.
1. Sit Down with Your Eyes Closed
Sit in a comfortable position and relax your body.
While it is common to sit cross-legged on the floor, you can also sit on a chair.
2. Maintain Deep, Steady Breathing
Meditation does not require any special breathing techniques.
Simply maintain a steady rhythm of deep, calm breaths.
Always remain aware of your breath and control it at any moment.
3. Observing Your Pain
Humans naturally tend to push pain out of their awareness.
In meditation, however, you'll do the exact opposite.
Pay attention to the following as you observe pain:
- What kind of pain you are feeling right now
- Where in your body you are feeling that pain
- How that pain is changing over time
"Pain" here refers to any unpleasant feelings, such as regret about the past, anxiety about the future, fear, anger, sadness, loneliness, and self-hatred.
Various forms of pain will naturally arise during meditation.
Be aware of even the smallest discomforts, so you can better understand them.
For example, if you feel hunger, focus your attention on fully experiencing that feeling of hunger.
How to Observe Pain
By repeating the following cycle, the mind gradually frees itself from pain, ultimately achieving complete inner peace:
- Identify a pain.
- Direct your attention to the pain. It may temporarily intensify.
- Sustain your focus. The pain will stop intensifying.
- Further maintain your focus. The pain will begin to lessen.
- Identify another pain and observe it in the same way.
For more details, see the article "What happens when you master meditation?".
Breathing Is a Lifeline
When observing pain, your breathing can easily become disrupted.
It is most important to maintain deep, steady breathing at all times.
If your breathing becomes too irregular, you may become overwhelmed by pain and lose the benefits of meditation altogether.
What If Meditation Isn't Working?
If you experience any of the following issues, check out the article "What to do if your meditation isn't working".
- Feeling tired quickly when sitting still
- Losing control of your breath
- Experiencing intrusive thoughts
- Finding it difficult to observe bodily sensations
- Finding it difficult to observe pain
How Meditation Works
Pain Scan Meditation improves brain function and stabilizes the mind in the following ways:
- Even when experiencing pain, maintaining deep, steady breathing ensures a sufficient supply of oxygen to the brain.
- When experiencing pain, the attempt to block it from consciousness causes cognitive distortion, where the brain cannot properly process information. This cognitive distortion can be resolved by consciously observing pain.
For more details, see our article "Why is meditation good for the mind?".