04.13.23 - Meditations on Migraine

Hello, friends.

As I sit and write to you this evening, I have my screen brightness almost all the way down and I just took an ice pack off of my head. You probably guessed it: it's a migraine. I am not here to share a meditation with you (though Soundcloud is always here for you), but simply to share an experience.

During this round of migraine (we're on day two), I have been taking a lot of time to check in with my entire body. Often when things are intense, I try to disengage from the discomfort in whatever way I can. But instead and to what degree I'm able, I am sensing into the tension in other places in my body. My neck and shoulders are tight. My jaw is clenched. I can feel a tensing in the belly. The pain just causes a whole system response, one that I tend to ignore. But noticing has helped me bring some ease for a little bit.

I have taken time to breathe and make some space around the pain too. Meditating into sleep is actually one of the great reliefs that I have found in the last year or so. It doesn't always take the pain away, but the space around the pain is crucial. So is the rest.

Why do I share all of this with you? Because maybe you don't have a migraine today. Maybe there's something else disrupting the system. Maybe a reminder to check in with the body is what you need. Or maybe there's pain somewhere that could use a reminder that space is possible. We don't have to cling to the hurt, but we can find our way to the other side of it with some breathing room. There are some moments when that feels impossible, even with this migraine. Sometimes it's the only way through though, so we keep going.

I hope to have a meditation for you in the morning. Until then, take care.

💗

Thanks for being here. It means so much to me. I hope you'll consider supporting these meditations by becoming a paid subscriber and/or spreading the word if you're finding benefit. 💗