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How to Meditate: Meditation 101 for Beginners
10 Science-Backed Benefits of Meditation
What is Meditation?
Benefits of Mindfulness: Mindful Living Can Change Your Life
Mindfulness 101: A Beginner's Guide
This is a place where we are sharing real-life experiences from Mindfulness.com community members — both as a way to help you feel connected to people all around the world who are on the mindfulness journey with you, and also so you can see how regular, simple mindfulness practices are helping people deal with challenges, increase happiness, and improve their everyday wellbeing.
We’d love to introduce you to Jenny, who wrote to us and shared her experience of using mindfulness to help reduce pain and increase mobility after a difficult surgery. Keep reading to get her full story.
Around 2008, I was working in the community for the NHS (England’s National Health Service), teaching relaxation and breathing techniques to help people who were living with pain, anxiety, and depression.
I also had a health issue that was causing me pain: after an operation to replace 3 discs in my neck, I suffered a bleed on the brain that affected my mobility. Even after 2 years of extensive (self-funded) physical therapy, I was told my left arm would be spastic — when the muscles are stiff and flexed and sometimes move in ways you can’t control — and that I would be completely in a wheelchair within the year.
Around that same time, I spent two weeks at Taraloka Shropshire and took a Living With Pain course from Vidyamala. I thought that Taraloka was a blissful place to learn “Breathfullness.” I spent the time learning Vidyamala’s mindfulness and breathing techniques to release tension, ease pain, and reduce the secondary suffering of my condition at that time. I learned a vast amount of useful ways to help clients and myself. Having this knowledge has given me the best tools that have helped me immensely.
I’m elated to report that, thanks to what I learned from Vidyamala, I am neither spastic or in a wheelchair. I do use a stick while outside — but I also drive, live by myself quite happily, and take care of my grandsons nearly every weekend. I JUST WANT TO SAY A VERY BIG THANK YOU TO VIDYAMALA OBE. Without her imparted knowledge, I doubt I would be here. My warmest regards to all.
If you want to share your story with the Mindfulness.com community, we'd love to hear from you!
Online Masterclass
If you’re interested in learning the same mindfulness and breathing techniques that have helped Jenny in her journey, you’ll love Vidyamala’s 3-hour Masterclass, Mindfulness for Pain.
Plus
We believe in a world where everybody has access to the life-changing skills of mindfulness.