Using physical pain as a sensation in mindfulness meditation

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I have tried mindfulness meditation but have trouble concentrating on my breathing. I find listening to music works better.

However the sensation of pain or discomfort seems to work best. With things like breathing it is hard to focus on sensations since the sensations are so mild. You have to almost search for them. With pain the sensations come at you and you can’t avoid them. Then you are forced to try to cope using mindfulness. When focusing on breathing, I have to try hard to be mindful. When I am in pain, I have a hard time not being mindful since the psychological consequences of a more subjective perspective are more unpleasant than the experience of a mindful perspective. Pain is dulled when I am mindful.

So is using the intentional infliction of pain or discomfort to promote mindfulness meditation something that has been studied or heavily practiced (which means there are studies, personal stories, a history, etc to it)? Is that what all the yogis who meditate on a bed of nails are trying to accomplish?

2

I don’t know if pain helps me focus, but I know I’m much more motivated to really throw myself into a meditative state when I’m experiencing it.

I use meditation and mindful breathing as my first line of pain control when I’m having a bad knee day, and I got another great use last week at the dentist.

I hadn’t been in far too long and had massive tartar buildup. The doctor whipped out this tool that uses water and ultrasonic vibration to blast the stuff loose. Of course with the mild gum recession, some of the teeth being sensitive and the fact that this tool sounds for all the world like someone trying to tune in an old shortwave radio while sitting in a room full of anger, chittering rats, it was a little nerve wracking.

I started focusing on my breathing and heart beat and was calm in moments. When she hit a sore spot or irritated one of the sensitive teeth it didn’t register as pain, per se. I can’t really describe it but I’ve always had that ability. It came in very handy when I was a fighter.