For the past ten years, I’ve had chronic neck and shoulder pain – there was also back pain but that subsided with constant stretches from my physical therapist. The neck and shoulder aches are tougher to get rid of because they are also connected to stress.

My shoulders have loosened up a lot due to acupuncture which is a very positive thing! This week the base of my neck has been extra tight – I roll it around and try to alleviate some of the tightness but sometimes, I just have to try and ignore it.

I have been doing meditation through the Headspace app (with Nathan’s recommendation) about once or twice a week when I feel like it would be beneficial. I noticed that there are difficult categories for the type of mediation you would like. One of the choices was “pain” and “pain at night”

After doing these meditation episodes, I did feel more relaxed and like my pain was lifted slightly. The narrator talked about the importance of acknowledging the pain rather than ignoring it, as well as visualizing your body sinking towards the painful spots. Sometimes your body simply needs a massage or to be stretched out, but I liked the concepts behind the pain meditation.