How can I practice meditation when I’m sick or fighting a cold?

When we are sick or aren't feeling so great physically, it's certainly ok to take a break from meditation practice. If we decide to meditate while sick, ideally we want to meet our experience with care and bring a relaxed attention to it. Tuning into an overall sense of the body, and the sensations that are happening, can support us in being more intimate with our experience without exerting too much effort. 

You want to try a body scan practice, especially lying down. Bringing interest and intention to the experience of bodily sensation can loosen the grip of thoughts that tend to make us feel worse when sick — "I feel horrible," "I wish I were better already," etc. 

You could also practice with a focus on external sounds, especially as an alternative to focusing on the breath, as that allows a sense of rest from attending to the body when it becomes too difficult. In the app, search for sound meditations, or try one of the following:

• Using Sound | Joseph Goldstein
• The World of Sound | Matthew Hepburn
• Relax with Sound | JoAnna Hardy
• Field of Sound | Anushka Fernandopulle
• Surround Sound | Jeff Warren

There are also meditations in the app to support you when you're in physical pain. Search the app for pain to find meditations, video, talks and more. There's also an article on our website here, Pain x Resistance = Suffering.

Feel better soon!