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Living with chronic pain can negatively impact your work and personal life, make everyday tasks slow going or even impossible, and negatively impact your mental health. Thankfully, there are some mind-body practices that can help.  

Mind-body therapies are integrative practices that often include breathing exercises or simple body movements that can help with relaxation. Yoga, meditation, mindfulness stress reduction, tai chi, guided imagery, and cognitive behavioral therapy are some of the most popular types of mind-body therapies used to manage pain.  

Stationary meditation  

Finding a quite calm place, you can try meditating on your own, or there are a variety of apps made specifically for mindfulness and meditation that can guide you through the process. Even just a few minutes each day can help you focus and get through some of your most painful days.  

Meditation through movement 

Yoga, tai chi, or qi gong are effective types of meditation that go back many centuries. These methods include movement, usually through various moves or poses and can be very beneficial to getting your mind and body connected and in sync to manage pain successfully. For example, a 2018 study showed that individuals living with fibromyalgia found that by participating in tai chi just twice a week, their symptoms were less severe.  

Cognitive behavioral therapy 

In this type of therapy, a trained counselor works with you to identify what thoughts can trigger or worsen your pain or your anxiety about having a painful medical condition. Together, you can find ways to change those thoughts and feelings and turn them into positive thoughts or actions that can minimize the development or severity of pain.   
 
Hypnosis 
When you think about hypnosis, you might envision some of the weird, comical or even disturbing things you’ve seen in movies or on television. However, true hypnosis is a type of deep concentration that is practiced with a certified hypnotherapist professional or an app. The treatment can help get to the root cause of pain, addictions, or other anxiety disorders. It has also helped people relieve chronic pain in kids and adults and can be used to reduce pain after surgery, due to its ability to spur a natural relaxation response in the body.  

Guided imagery 

Your mind is a beautiful and active place that has much imagination. However, sometimes the pain you’re experiencing will cloud or muffle that imagination and it will take some guided imagery to help get to a place that is calming or pleasant. Getting to that ‘happy place’ can distract your mind from dwelling on the pain.