Living Well with Pain and Illness: The Mindful Way to Free Yourself from SufferingAfter two serious spinal injuries, Vidyamala Burch found herself facing the loneliness of disability and chronic pain with few skills or resources to turn to. But instead of giving up, she set out on a mission to embrace her physical challenges with compassion, acceptance, and peace. Living Well with Pain and Illness shares the fruits of her courageous life's work, teaching us how the practice of mindfulness can help us thrive in the face of health challenges of any kind. Drawing on the wisdom of a dozen years teaching meditation and a lifetime of study of the benefits of mindful living, Vidyamala encourages readers with insights and instruction in: The five-step model of mindfulness and how to use it to foster healing The Breathworks approach to meditation, and how to apply it to health concerns such as migraines, arthritis, and chronic fatigue Step-by-step techniques, illustrations, and case studies demonstrating how to effectively bring mindfulness into daily life Chronic pain has been called the modern world's silent epidemic. Billions are spent every year in an attempt to cope, yet the best solution available may be absolutely cost-free mindful living. In Living Well with Pain and Illness, Vidyamala Burch presents a work that is at once an inspirational memoir and practical guidebook for using mindfulness to reframe your relationship with physical and emotional suffering. |
Contents
My Journey to the Present Moment | 3 |
What Is Pain? | 15 |
The Two Arrows | 24 |
Exploring Mindfulness | 41 |
The FiveStep Model of Mindfulness | 62 |
Healing Becoming Whole | 86 |
The Breath | 101 |
Mindful Movement | 122 |
Setting Up for Meditation | 199 |
The Body Scan | 211 |
Guided Meditations and Exercises for Living Well with Pain | 212 |
Mindfulness of Breathing | 231 |
Kindly Awareness | 246 |
Managing Thoughts and Emotions | 261 |
Mindfulness in Daily Life | 281 |
Keep Going | 296 |
What Is Meditation? | 157 |
Helpful Attitudes | 168 |
Meditating with Pain | 186 |
Pleasant and Unpleasant Events Diaries | 303 |
Back Cover Material | 337 |
Other editions - View all
Living Well with Pain and Illness: The Mindful Way to Free Yourself from ... Vidyamala Burch No preview available - 2008 |
Living Well with Pain and Illness: The Mindful Way to Free Yourself from ... Vidyamala Burch No preview available - 2010 |
Living Well With Pain And Illness: Using mindfulness to free yourself from ... Vidyamala Burch No preview available - 2011 |
Common terms and phrases
activities allow arms attitude avoid back pain become aware body scan body’s breath awareness Breathworks course Buddha Buddhist calm can’t chapter chronic pain Coleman Barks comfortable creative cycle develop diaphragm distraction ence engage experience of pain feel felt figure floor gently gradually habits hands healing heart I’ve Imagine in-breath Jon Kabat-Zinn kindly awareness practice kindness legs let go living with pain look lying Mary Oliver means meditation practice mindful movement mindfulness of breathing mindfulness practice mindfulness-based move muscles natural breath neck ness neuropathic pain notice out-breath pain and illness pelvic floor pelvis person perspective pleasant pleasure posture practice mindfulness Rainer Maria Rilke relax resistance response rest your awareness rhythm Sangharakshita secondary suffering sensations sense settle shoulders Shunryu Suzuki sitting soft soften sometimes spine stage strain take your awareness tension there’s things tion trying unpleasant Vidyamala what’s happening whole yoga you’re