Using Meditation to Manage Your JA for Managing Your JA

Learn how this mind-body practice can help ease pain and stress.

When you think of meditation, you might picture someone dressed in white, sitting crisscross and chanting the word “Om.” But that’s not the only way to do it. In fact, there are many types of meditation or mind-body practices that use calming thoughts and relaxation techniques that can help you improve focus and ease stress.  When you have arthritis, quieting the mind through meditation can also help with pain, says David E. Yocum, MD, director of the Arizona Arthritis Center in Tucson.

Below are descriptions of popular types of meditation. These types of complementary therapies can’t replace your prescription medicines, but they may reduce dependence on over-the-counter pain pills. And meditating doesn’t have to take a long time or be so boring. Try them out to find the best fit for you.

Meditation Types

Yoga Breathing

Yoga breathing can help you focus and calm your mind. All it takes is focusing on your breath, paying close attention to each inhale and each exhale.

Here’s on ways to do it: Sit comfortably in a chair or lie on your back with your feet flat on the floor. Inhale through your nose, filling up your chest and expanding your ribs. Then, slowly exhale through your nose until all the air has been released. You can try gradually increasing the length of your exhale compared with your inhale. For example, you may inhale to the count of 4, and then exhale to the count of 8. But there’s no need to push yourself – your exhale only has to be slightly longer than your inhale. Do what’s comfortable. Practice for a few minutes, a couple times a day. Simple, right?

Mindfulness Meditation

Mindfulness meditation is about being fully present in the moment in an open, self-loving way and quieting negative thoughts.

Sit upright comfortably on the floor or in a chair. Bring your attention to your body and your five senses. Acknowledge every sensation, but don’t judge them. For example, if you feel pain in your knee, try noticing it without labeling it. If your mind wanders, just bring your attention back to the moment.

Body Scan

This type of meditation can be particularly helpful for pain. To do so, fully focus on different parts of your body one at a time – including the parts that hurt. This may help you focus awareness on your entire body, not just the parts that hurt. It also provides an opportunity to relax the parts of your body that have tension. You may have pain, but it does not have to define you or consume your thoughts.

Walking Meditation

Some people find a moving meditation easier than one where you sit still. Instead of listening to music or scrolling through your phone, focus on your body’s movements as you walk and notice the sensations in each part of your body. You can do this when walking for exercise, but it’s also a great way to squeeze meditation into your busy day while you’re walking to the school bus, for example.

Guided Imagery

This form of meditation uses visualization to help ease the mind and soothe the body. You can start off by listening to a recording that helps you focus on a beautiful scene or you can imagine your immune system healing your joints instead of hurting them. Music or nature sounds can make good additions, too. With practice, you can create your images on your own without a guiding voice.

Transcendental Meditation

This meditation practice is taught by an instructor, who gives you a personal mantra (a sound that you repeat to help you focus). The practice is performed while sitting comfortably with eyes closed for 15 to 20 minutes in the morning and evening.

Ready to Give it a Go?

Here are some tips to get you started.

Get Started

Go online and read more about the different forms of meditation.

Classes can be good for beginners. Check yoga studios, churches and community centers for classes.

Meditation can help you better cope with your pain and other arthritis symptoms, but they won’t go away. You’ll still need medicine.

Counting your breaths or repeating a word can help keep your mind from wandering. Repeat the word with every exhale to help keep you focused on the meditation.

Don’t watch the clock. Instead, sit quietly, focus on your breathing and repeat a calming word or thought for as long as you’re comfortable.

Make a commitment to practice your meditation regularly. The more you do it, the more benefit you’ll get.

If your mind wanders to something else, like a conversation with a friend when you’re supposed to be focusing on your body, that’s OK. Just acknowledge the thought and then redirect your focus.

Find the type of meditation that works for you and feels comfortable. If you simply want to sit quietly and focus on positive thoughts, that’s meditation, too.