3 Important Headspace Meditations for Dealing with Chronic Pain or Illness

It’s no secret that I am a big proponent for meditation.

Meditation is a key part of Hal Elrod's The Miracle Morning.

I'm am so obsessed with this book, I'm telling everyone I know to read it. In fact, I just got off the phone with my DZ BFF, I was encouraging her to relax before her year end review, she's going to read it.

In the Life S.A.V.E.R.S., the first S. stands for Silence...meaning meditation.

Currently, I am using the Headspace app. While using this app I found 3 important meditations for dealing with chronic pain or illness.

THE PAIN MANAGEMENT PACK

First, headspace has a wonderful pain management pack. It’s a 30 day pack that takes you through learning how to manage your chronic pain.

For me, the pack helped most when I was out and about in public and had a sudden pain flare strike.  Feeling helpless in a terrible moment: I’m not at home, I don’t have any of the items that help me through pain flare.  However, now I know a few techniques to take the edge off. Is it perfect? No. But, it does help me get through a situation until I can get to my house.

Some of the things that most don’t realize about chronic pain and illness is that it goes hand in hand with depression and anxiety.

Headspace also has a wonderful depression 30 day pack and anxiety 30 day pack.

THE ANXIETY PACK

I went through the anxiety pack first because I felt that that was what I needed immediately after finishing the Pain Management Pack.

I was having anxiety about trying to fall asleep at night, riding in cars, what I was going to fix for dinner because I felt so bad, and many other things.  The anxiety pack really helped my breathing and focus. Andy Puddicombe the meditation guru's voice is so soothing and he really takes you through your thought processes when you are in an anxious moment. In fact, sometimes I can’t even hear him speaking in my head when I feel my anxiety ramping up.

THE DEPRESSION PACK

Depression is also something I never thought I would experience.

I’ve always been a happy go lucky person, but after two years of nonstop nerve pain that was uncontrolled, I fell into a depression, and I didn't even know it.

When I went into the depression pack just to see if it was something I wanted to do, that’s actually when I have the dawning realization that I was depressed. The 30 day pack really help me put things into perspective, when it was over, I decided to go seek medical advice for my general practitioner.

If you have a chronic condition and you feel like you may be depressed I highly recommend this package. You may be similar to me and you just don’t realize it.

In my experience, 3 important meditations for dealing with chronic pain or illness are the pain management, anxiety, and depression packs on Headspace. I highly suggest that if you suffer from any of these conditions to check them out. And sometimes they're even funny! I mean look at the update notice...hilarious!

If you haven't checked out The Miracle Morning they have it in audio, if you like to listen and drive, or paperback.

Paleo Popsicles

I was walking in Walmart of all places yesterday and I could not believe my eyes when I saw this. Paleo Popsicles!

I’m always looking for ways to treat myself tearing my healthy diet. There’s just sometimes when you need a pick me up. It’s also great when that pick me up is not bad for you or it doesn’t destroy all the hard work you’ve done with your diet.

I tried these the other night, and they were really good. I also was surprised to see that the ginger component of this really settle my stomach down.

I’m definitely going to be trying the other flavors. They have apple crisp, coconut, and strawberry passion. I’m thinking when spring comes around I’m definitely going to be trying that strawberry passion.

The apple crisp also sounds great for fall and Houston Texas, because it still hot as hell.

Ingredients: Filtered Water, Pineapple Juice, White Grape Juice, Pear Puree, Ginger, Chia Seeds, Guar Gum

It was $4.94 at my Walmart so that's not bad if you are looking for a shortcut.  If you're like me, sometimes I'm in a pain flare or I'm exhausted so I just don't want to do it myself.

Afternoon Pick Me Up with Matcha

I really got into a collagen and matcha afternoon pick me up without the harshness of coffee. I know everyone faces tiredness at about the mid-afternoon point.  Sometimes when you do have a chronic condition, that old mid-afternoon slump turns you used to have, turns into a dead bone feeling of tiredness you just can't head bob your way out of.

If you haven't tried Thrive Market yet, that is where I get the culinary matcha used to whip up this drink. It's amazing and I love it.  Thrive is great is you live in a small town (or even a big one) because they offer amazing prices. That is so beneficial to me as most of our income goes to my medical expenses.  Plus, not everyone has a Whole Foods Market near them.



As I am mostly paleo, I put in a teaspoon of honey along with a tablespoon of full fat coconut milk, a scoop of collagen, and 1 teaspoon of matcha powder with about 8-12 ounces of Zico coconut water. All of which you can get on Thrive or Amazon.

Blend with your blending stick or blender and enjoy.


From Matcha.com, its many health benefits, matcha…

• Is packed with antioxidants including the powerful EGCg
• Boosts metabolism and burns calories
• Detoxifies effectively and naturally
• Calms the mind and relaxes the body
• Is rich in fiber, chlorophyll and vitamins
• Enhances mood and aids in concentration
• Provides vitamin C, selenium, chromium, zinc and magnesium
• Prevents disease
• Lowers cholesterol and blood sugar

Matcha tea is an easy and simple way to add powerful health benefits to your everyday diet.

Paleo Meals Delivered!

We went crazy and decided to try one of those subscription meal delivery services. I was stuck in a rut of doing the same Paleo and Whole 30 meals back to back, and up and over and under!

I looked at all of them, because there are a lot of services out there.  I had specific criteria...had to have organic options, had to be Paleo compliant, or at least enough where I could add a few things of my own to make it that way.

Lo and behold...there is only one company out there (hopefully more will come soon) that met my criteria.  Sun Basket.

It offers Paleo and Whole30 compliant meals.  They also use organic ingredients which makes my Regenerative Medicine doctor do a happy dance.

Bullet Journal Mandalas

I really hit my stride and went full force into bullet journaling this past July. I have used the 'normal' grid look to track and record my pain levels, sleep, etc.

I went crazy and decided to jazz up my bujo (gotta love that slang) and started to do some mandala type designs. I ordered a wonderful template that helps create that circle tracker look you see on a lot of bujo's. It's a flat compass and protractor by Moxiedori on Etsy.



I love that it fits in the back of my Leuchttrum 1917.  This way it is with me no matter where the bullet journal mood strikes.

On this spread I wanted to stipple inside the Moon Tracker portion.  I'm still such an art nerd.  You can take the art teacher out of the classroom, but you can't take the art out of the teacher!

Never Underestimate The Influence Of Affirmations

Learning to do affirmations is still a work in progress but thanks to The Miracle Morning I really have been able to clarify them. Now being a chronic pain warrior I know I need to do affirmations.  This was my first attempt.  I didn't really get HOW to do affirmations.

One of my favorite bullet journal bloggers suggested The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod and in it he explains how to create your own affirmations and how to make them work on a daily basis.

Even if you don't have the mental capacity (I'm looking at you brain fog) to focus on making your own. Hal Elrod has some great ones on his website that you can start with.  I love his Health and Energy one and have been using that affirmation all of January.

I really do recommend his book The Miracle Morning.  I will do a separate post on how it helped me to deal with my chronic pain later in January.

A Night of Chronic Pain

It's close to midnight and I'm declining to go to bed with the abundance of feeling similar to a little kid's refusal. I'm just going to ignore the looks and suggestions the Hubbs throws at me, even if I know I'll be in more pain tomorrow if I don't get enough sleep.

You see when you are in chronic pain, sometimes the place you dread the most is your bed.  We have a nice bed, it's a Leesa. We bought it before my back surgeries once we had gotten home from a cruise and realized how bad our bed was after being away for a week.  Now that same bed is a source of frustration and pain.

I get in and arrange my four different pillows into the first configuration.  Tonight I'm going to try to sleep on my left side, even though my left hip is now bothering me, probably because I compensate on it all the freaking time.  Body pillow running the length of the bed.  Check.  Serta "never fall flat" pillow on top of the body pillow and offset so my left leg can run under and my right on top.  Check. Standard sleeping pillow hugged to my torso to keep my lower back from twisting.  Check. Cervical neck pillow to keep my spine in alignment. Check.  Get the Hubbs to grab the sheets and cover me up so I don't disrupt my alignment.  Check. Ok.  Now let me see if I can sleep.

5 minutes later.

Now my right leg is throbbing and it's all I can think about until my brain shuts down from the pain.  Get up.  Get my IFC/TENS unit.  Get the Hubbs to help me put it on.  Get back in bed and go through the pillow procedure again. Check and double check.  Now hopefully, and usually, I am able to fall asleep.  Sometimes though, lying on my left side just isn't going to cut it so I have to switch to my back.  These times my brain is screaming "PAIN...PAIN....PAIN...PAIN...PAIN" so much so, that my usual sleep technique of making up stories in my head until I just drift off doesn't work.

I rearrange all my pillows (hoping at this point that I don't wake up the Hubbs) and flip onto my back.  Lay there for 15 minutes or an hour or two, which I know because my IFC/TENS cycles off in a hour, and then finally I will eventually drift off.  Then, if I am lucky, I don’t wake up until the Hubbs alarm goes off at 6:30AM.  On bad days I just happen to wake up at 3:00AM, 4:30AM. or 5:20AM.  This happens a lot which is why I know the exact times.

Then I have to get up.  Why?  Because if I try to go back to sleep, I end up tossing and turning. Then the pain starts up again and I end up further aggravating whatever the hell is wrong with my body that's causing the chronic pain. I limp out of bed, brush my teeth, and make a pot of coffee.  I’m ready to start my new normal day.  Good times.

Feel free to add your experience with chronic pain in the comments.

Photo Credit: Jaymantri

Back at the desk...just wish it was a standing desk

Back Surgery...when you can't bend over for 3+ months.

2017...well here I am 3 years later and oh so much wiser.

In the past 3 years, I have switched school districts, then left teaching to pursue in-vetro fertilization (IVF), then found out I herniated my L4/L5 and did surgery, not once but twice, and now I'm left with unexplained chronic buttock and hip pain (which is way worse than the actual herniation was).

In fact, since May 2016 my life has become what I like to call "the new normal." I've been in survival mode with the good days slightly outweighing the bad. Slightly. I think. Friends and family have told me they marvel at my strength, my will to not give up, the amazing fact that I'm not depressed, and that I should write a book. Well. Maybe. First, I thought I would get back in the blog habit, then if I can really get into my writing again...and there seems to be a place for my advice and thoughts about dealing with the shit storms of life, then yes, I will write that book.

I want to make it clear that I don't have all the answers and what worked for me may not work for you or your crazy aunt that had her hip replaced. I am also by no means done with my journey of getting rid of my chronic pain but I'm still hopeful (ask me again in 2019, I told The Hubbs that I'm fully allowed to be 100% despondent then).

Wii Fit

I'm getting back on the horse. It's Spring Break and I've canceled the surgery I had planned because my heel fracture is non-union. I'm going to have to have my heel fixed in June and I have to be 100% before I go under the knife again. I'll talk more about what they are going to do on my Saturday post.

So about the horse, I started working out again. I can't do much but did find out that I can do some of the yoga and strength training modes on the Wii Fit. Most of the balance games that have you rock back and forth hurt too much but with the strength and yoga, you are just standing there and while it's not comfortable, it's not painful.

I'm hoping to get at least some of the muscle rebuilt in my leg before I have to lose it again. I'm also praying for a miracle from God. That HE will heal my foot so I don't have to have this surgery and maybe go to Junction this summer. Regardless, I'm not having my left foot done until I've graduated from Grad School.

Blood Clots and Birth Control

These past 7 months I have been battling the 'fallout' from having a blood clot in my right leg from my surgery.

I will continue to update with my smart health posts just to get a list of all the comprehensive knowledge I have gained.

1. If you are a women and you are going to have a surgery where you will be non-weight baring for a period of a month or longer, stop your birth control. Inform your Ob/Gyn what you are having done and seek alternative methods of pregnancy prevention if necessary.

2. If you get a blood clot, you will most likely get another one in the future. This is a hard statement to make and none of my doctors would confirm this, until I saw my endometriosis specialist who is internationally renowned, said I will most likely get another blood clot in the future.

3. If you don't like your hematologist, shop around and get a new one. I thought that my hematologist was a little extreme, well I had that confirmed since she wouldn't sign off on the surgery I'm going to have spring break.

4. If you have any surgeries for the rest of your life you have to get special permission from a hematologist to do it.

5. If you are a women you must find a high risk Ob/Gyn if you are planning on having children. Fun! I haven't done this one yet, but will need to get on it soon.

6. If you are a women you cannot take birth control for the rest of your life. Which isn't a big deal for most women, however, since I have severe endometriosis, it's a BIG problem for me.

So what do I have planned for the next year. I'm having a Laproscopy done in March with a possible Laprotomy done when Summer I of grad school is over. We shall see and I won't know until the March surgery. Hopefully it will go well and I will keep health updates going.

Bone Density

I found out a couple of weeks ago that I am losing bone density in my right foot.

I have been undergoing extensive medical problems this year due to a surgery I had in last June. I have had so many complications and problems since the surgery: blood clot, and fracturing my bone graph in my heel.

I have spent at least 5 months of this year on crutches and am approaching my 6 month on them. To say I'm frustrated in my current health condition is an understatement.

I'm now under orders to walk on my foot to try to build up the bone density in my heel, even though it is still fractured. I go back on the 30th to find out if I've re-fractured it by walking on it. It's been a long tough road. Some of my students told me during finals they couldn't believe all that I've been through this year and that I have the worst luck or something along those lines. I told them I'm just building up my Karma. I'm either going to meet my husband in 2010 or win the lotto (of course meeting the man I hope to marry is just like winning the lotto but millions of dollars couldn't hurt). Plus I have LOTS of new organizations to donate to...Endometriosis society, Blood Clot research.....