Mindfulness For Dummies, 3rd Edition



Chapter 14

Getting Physical: Healing the Body

IN THIS CHAPTER

Understanding the real connections between mind and body

Discovering ways to manage pain mindfully

Exploring how to cope with your illness using mindfulness

Mindfulness for people with serious medical problems was initially adopted in the USA, and now the approach is rapidly being adopted all over the world. Doctors who’d exhausted all traditional medical routes referred patients to a stress-reduction clinic that used mindfulness to help people cope with pain, anxiety and stress.

As the patients engaged in mindfulness, they began to discover a different way of relating to their challenging experiences. They began to feel better, despite their medical problems. The symptoms didn’t necessarily disappear, and the aim of mindfulness wasn’t to make them go away. The patients found a different way of coping with the illness: from a state of wholeness and wisdom, rather than fear and disharmony.

This chapter explores why mindfulness may be beneficial for those suffering from a chronic health condition, and offers a variety of different ways of beginning that journey. You certainly ...