"Mindfulness of Breathing," uses the dynamic of the breath to help us become aware of the physical sensations of the breathing as the air flows in and out of the body. With this practice the mind gradually becomes quieter and the listener experiences greater contentment.
Vidyamala’s teaching comes from her own experience of dealing with severe pain. Twenty years ago, having been bedridden for several months with a spinal injury, she had to endure a painful medical test that went on for an entire night. During these long hours of intense pain she felt herself sliding towards the edge of madness. But her experience turned around when she heard a quiet inner voice saying, "You don't have to get through till morning; you only have to get through the present moment." This experience led to a liberation that Vidyamala describes as being like a house of cards collapsing. “My experience immediately changed from an agonized state to one that was soft and rich – despite the physical pain. At that moment of relaxing into the present moment I intuitively knew I had tasted something true."
This experience catalyzed Vidyamala’s 20-year exploration of the power of mindfulness and meditation in dealing with pain. Even though her spinal condition has continued to deteriorate further and she now has to use crutches or a wheelchair to get around, Vidyamala says, "My overall quality of life has continued to improve as I’ve become more adept at managing the responses to my physical condition through meditation."
In 2001, Vidyamala began teaching mindfulness-based approaches to others living with physical pain and illness. She first produced her CD’s, which she co-leads with her partner and fellow meditation teacher Sona, as a support for the students attending her pain-management classes. One former pain-reduction student, writer and journalist Olga Kenyon, says that Vidyamala’s teaching has helped her through years of chronic pain, and has allowed her to transform her thinking so that she can now face life and even be cheerful in the face of her debilitating bone condition. Jan Sadler, the founder of PainSupport and author of Natural Pain Relief, says that the recordings “Show what a great and deep understanding of chronic pain, and stress” Vidyamala and Sona have.
Vidyamala's approach to pain management is based on the central skill of mindfulness – an ability to be aware, in the moment, and nonjudgmentally, of what you are actually experiencing – and learning to respond creatively. Pain and illness are innately unpleasant experiences and inevitably many of us develop unhelpful habits in reaction such as aversion, avoidance and tension. This just adds to the overall experience of suffering. "Mindfulness can help us break this cycle of reactivity and regain a sense of initiative, confidence and control," says Vidyamala.