Pain can hit suddenly – any time or place. Of all the things that work during a pain flare – vacuum cleaner breathing comes in the fastest and the strongest to get me through emergency times.

This is a meditation exercise, but you don’t have to call it meditation for it to work. It is basically a combination of intentional breathing with a very basic mental image. You will want to practice this during times that you are feeling in control – such as a minor pain at home. Once you’ve done it a few times, you can pull it out even under times of stress to dampen the pain.

First, get yourself comfortable. Sitting in a place where people won’t bother me or think I am strange for closing my eyes is a start. It might be easier for you to lie down. It might also be easiest to find a place that has a nice light in front of you.

Next, find a spot upon which to concentrate outside of your body. Most people choose a “third eye” that sits just off your forehead or above the top of your head. Mine is about a foot above my forehead and six inches forwards. Yours might be three feet forward from your heart. Location doesn’t matter, just find a place that you can feel comfortable locating again and again.

Then, close your eyes and breathe regularly. Pay attention to the breath coming in and out of your body. Imagine a loop that starts outside your body and travels in toward your pain, then leaving your body again. You are going to be breathing around this loop.

1. Start with a spot outside your body that has light or clean air.
2. Breathe in pulling that light into your third eye.
3. Keep breathing in (this is a fast set of steps) and pull that light and clean to the part of you that hurts.
4. Breathe out, grabbing a little bit of the pain (I imagine it as dirt) and pull it away from the pained area.
5. Pull that pain travels outside your body. I breathe it straight out from the spot. If you prefer a closed-loop, you can follow where it came in and send it out the same way.
6. Feel the pain leave your body and disperse.
7. Repeat until the pain is gone or at least reduced to manageable levels. This happens when all the bad stuff around the pain is out of your body and it’s place is taken by good energy that can help you.

I pull out this tool and use it daily. Sometimes this is to bide time until something else happens (e.g. pain meds kick in) and sometimes this is enough pain control in itself. Do not expect to rise out of your chair pain free and a new person. But, this is one of many things I do that work together so I can get through the day.

I learned a version of this in yoga class and adapted it to my needs with chronic pain. If you like this, you might want to look into yoga. Not the twist both legs behind your neck yoga, but gentle, restorative, and therapeutic yoga all work with breathing and the body.

Questions? Ask below. I am eager to fine tune this writing so it is understandable to everyone.