For people with fibromyalgia, we are often recommended to take part in mindfulness exercises. Mindfulness is the ability to be fully present. For many of us, our mind wanders while we are doing things and it is like we are on auto pilot. Endless thoughts invade our mind all day long. When we remain mindful, our mind is fully attending the task/activity at hand – we are present of our surroundings and what we are doing. However, being mindful takes practice and is not an easy strategy.

For myself, I often found being mindful extremely difficult and I would give up soon after beginning the process. I was given several strategies from various health care providers I had been working along side to help lower fibromyalgia symptoms. In this blog I will speak about one strategy , as there are too many strategies to cover in one blog post.

For you music lovers out there, you can incorporate a mindfulness activity in while you are listening to music. Many of us turn music on for background noise, but this mindful strategy requires you to actively listen to the music. If you have problems with traditional meditation ( like I do), mindful music listening can act as a great substitution for a meditation session. Five minutes a day listening to music can be just as effective as meditation if you really focus on the music.

Be sure you pick music to actively listen to that you enjoy. It makes active listening easier if you use a song you like. You can expand later on and experiment by using other songs for this activity. Experts state that many people tend to listen to music that reflects their current mood. I wonder if this is why we may choose to listen to different genres from day to day?!

During a session, I was asked what song I would use for this exercise. At the time I was feeling very defeated and frustrated from seeing no improvements with my fibromyalgia. I felt I was at rock bottom. Of course I couldn’t think of a song title on the spot so I picked the last song that was on the radio driving to my appointment. The song was “Fight Song” by Rachel Platten. Obviously, I had heard this song probably 100 times on the radio and never really paid attention to the lyrics. I went home and tried to actively listen to this song. Did I ever pick the right song. The lyrics seemed to fit my current situation- feeling defeated, judged by people/ previously involved health care providers and failing to get a handle of my symptoms. The song lead me to the following lyrics….

Here are the steps to active listening that I was given.

1. Pick a song. You can pick a song you have heard or a song you have never listened to before. You can use music with lyrics or instrumental. The choice is yours. I was guided to pick a songs that I would normally listen to.

2. Take a moment to ground yourself and breathe. Take a few deep breaths in and out. Take note how your body feels as you do this. Notice how you are positioned – sitting, standing, laying down, walking etc. Assess anything your body is physically touching. Do you have any tension or tightness in your body?

3. Listen, and only listen! Shut out any external sounds by using headphones. Allow yourself to hear only the music. I often close my eyes or put my sleep mask on so I am not tempted to look around and lose the music.

4. Notice the small details. What instruments can you hear in the music? Does the tempo of the song change? Does the volume change? Do the lyrics reflect anything? Do any visual images arise while listening to the music? How does the music make you feel? Does the song make memories arise? Notice how your body feels.

5. Reflect. Does anything feel different? Any shift in your mood? Calmer? More tense? If you found your song choice was not the best, what other songs could you try next time?

This is just one example of a mindfulness activity. There are many others. I will write about several other techniques in later posts that have helped me with taking part in everyday mindfulness. Active music listening can help lower stress and anxiety levels. Practicing mindfulness can put you in touch with the moment and help lower your worries. Lower overall stress levels, means lower chronic pain felt in fibromyalgia. This strategy is easy to adjust as well. You can use the same song over and over if you find a particular song easier to be mindful to, or you can explore with new genres and artists. Since I have such a difficult time even “getting into the zone” to meditate, I often use this strategy since I am a music lover! Happy listening!