A Meditation for Easing Pain and Inviting Joy

This week, mindfulness teacher Vanessa Hutchinson-Siskelly shares a tender meditation for those in the midst of pain.

Sometimes seasons of intense suffering appear in our lives – no warning, no easy answer.

This week, mindfulness teacher Vanessa Hutchinson-Seckelly shares a tender meditation for those experiencing pain. Based on her own experience with an extended episode of chronic back pain, she offers a moment of mindfulness and attention open to the possibility of releasing tension and joy.

A meditation to ease pain and invite joy

Read and follow the guided meditation script below, pausing after each paragraph. Or listen to the audio practice.

1. Take a moment to settle in wherever you are. You may be lying down, sitting comfortably, or even supported by pillows or blankets. Allow your body to find stillness. Let your mind reach you.
2. Take a deep breath through your nose. And a long breath through your mouth. Breathe in slowly, feeling your body expand. Exhale, letting go of whatever is holding you back today. A place to relax, to breathe, to be kind to yourself. Continue at your pace to take a few more deep breaths through your nose, and then slowly exhale through your mouth.
3. Notice how your body feels right now without judgmentwithout the need to fix anything. There may be an area that feels hard, swollen, or painful. You may feel tired or heavy. Whatever it is, let it be here. We are not fighting the pain, we are meeting it with awareness.
4. Now with each breath, imagine that you are breathing in a soft golden light. And with each inhale, you’re releasing tension as it slowly leaves your body. Keep breathing, visualizing golden light coming in and out with all your inhales, and releasing more and more tension with each breath. Now feel the golden light traveling through your body. Smooth over your face from the top of your head, your eyes, your jawline, your neck. Let your shoulders roll away from your ears. Relax the muscles across your back.
5. Now let the light move down your arms through your elbows, wrists, hands and fingers. Breathe into your chest. Feel your ribs expand, your heart open. Let your belly rise and fall gently, your breath like waves on the beach. Allow this golden light to move from your hips and down your feet to your knees, calves, ankles and toes. Your whole body is bathed in light, breathing, releasing, softening.
6. Now bring your attention to the area that is calling for the idea where the pain lives most strongly. Breathe slowly into this space. Imagine air reaching every cell that needs relief. You’re not trying to make the pain go away, you’re surrounding it with love, with breath, with presence. Visualize a soft light, perhaps golden, perhaps a warm rose or calm blue, caressing this part of your body. Even as you quietly whisper to yourself, I am here with you. You are safe. You are a healer.
7. Now let’s shift our focus to the feelings that bring happiness. Think of something that makes your heart feel light. Maybe it’s a favorite place – the ocean, a mountain trail, a cafe, your comfy bed. Maybe it’s a sound – the lottery, birds, a song that always lifts you up. Or maybe it’s a taste, like warm bread, ripe berries, tea with honey.
8. Let a happy image take center stage. See it clearly, feel it in your body, notice a warmth in your chest, a relaxation in your shoulders, a hint of a smile. This is happiness. This is your body remembering wellness. Now send this joy to the places in your body that feel good and the places that need healing. Let the joy move you like melting through ice. Repeat gently in your mind, I send love and light throughout my body. I am more than my pain. I am full.
9. Take a deep breath in completely. Now think of one thing you are grateful for today, big or small. Maybe your breath, maybe a friend, maybe the courage to press play on this meditation. As you inhale, expand that gratitude, filling your body from within. Feel the gratitude travel beyond your body, spreading out like waves in a pool, silently repeating, and silently repeating, towards your loved ones, your community, and the world. I’m fine. Easily find others who are suffering. May peace increase in me.
10. Now imagine that your entire body is surrounded by glowing lighta cocoon of healing energy that keeps you safe. This light is soft and powerful. It is rejuvenating every part of your mind, body and heart. You are safe. You are loved, you are whole. Allow your body to soften into this knowing. Allow yourself to relax here for a few breaths.
11. As we close, take one last deep breath in through your nose and out your mouth. love love Thank you for breathing. Breathe. Exhale. Breathe light. Breath Release As you slowly bring your awareness back into the room, remember that you are not in pain. You are the light that shines beneath it, and that light is always there, ready to guide you to happiness. Thank you for showing up for yourself today. May your body rest, may your heart be light. And you may proceed in peace.