As a retired spine surgeon with many years of experience, I was often referred complicated spine problems that required complex surgeries. Sometimes those surgeries resulted in complications for the patient. Although I was committed to having no complications from the first day I walked into the operating room, there was a point a few years ago when I faced up to the fact that I hadnt been able to eliminate them. My own thoughts were interfering with my work.

The most common interferences I felt during surgery were frustration, anxiety, distraction, complacency, and, especially, being in a rush to finish. They all detracted from the consistency of my performance. This led me to develop a somewhat defensive mindset. If I could get through the week without a surgical complication, it was a huge relief.

Things changed when I decided to enlist the help of a performance coach to help me reduce any mistakes in surgery. That was a major turning point in my professional life. I brought my coach into the operating room and clinic so he could better understand my world. For 18 months, he and I underwent regular debriefings and coaching. I began to use active meditation in the operating room.

This meditation model is not based on suppressing interference for instance, if youre frustrated, you dont pretend otherwise rather, you face these frustrations and then detach from them. Using tools and approaches that have been employed for centuries in the practices of meditation and mindfulness, I learned to identify any interference either before or during surgery, and then let go of it.

This is how it worked: Each surgical morning, I woke up and assessed how I was feeling. Like everyone, my feelings ranged from calm and relaxed to tired and anxious. Then, I immediately started sensing every smell, touch and taste possible. I felt the water on my back in the shower. I smelled the coffee. I also reminded myself that although that days surgery is just another case for me, its one of the most important days of my patients life.

I continued this process in the operating room. I carefully arranged the room, talked to each member of the surgical team, and reviewed the imaging studies. I was focused and immersed in whats right in front of me, when previously Id rush into the operating room at the last minute just before making the incision.

During surgery, awareness allowed me to perform my next move at an optimum level. I felt my grip pressure on each surgical tool; noticed the shape of the contours of the anatomy; felt my shoulder and arm muscles stay relaxed; and just watched the flow of the case.

If I felt any disruptive emotions intrude into my state of mind, I quickly practiced my environmental awareness techniques in order to re-focus. I learned to be more fully engaged on a higher percent of cases, so I could program myself into the zone.

Since I started practicing active meditation, my complication rate in surgery noticeably decreased. For instance, from 1999 until 2003 I had an acceptable 9% rate of inadvertently entering the dural sac (a sack of fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord). After I started using meditation, I made this mistake only two or three times a year, which is less than one percent.

Surgery became a wonderful experience for me. I eagerly looked forward to Monday instead of Friday. I committed to getting a good nights sleep before my surgeries. If I woke up wired and uneasy, I slowed down until I felt relaxed, no matter how many things were on my to-do list.

I continue to practice active meditation daily. Environmental awareness is more difficult outside the operating room, in the less controlled areas of my life, but it is still my go-to active meditation.

One tool I use to practice awareness is my to do list. I remind myself that this list is an expression of my life, and so I practice being aware as I go about each item. For instance, when I have an appointment with a patient, I listen to myself talk to him or her. I feel the pen on the paper as I jot down notes. I also practice meditative techniques. such as watching the disruptive thoughts of need to finish up here, I have other things to do enter my consciousness and then leave.

I remember that my goal is to engage and enjoy every second of my to do list. It doesnt always work, but its surprising how often it does.

Environmental awareness engages me in the present moment regardless of the circumstances. It is not positive thinking, but just switching the sensory input. With repetition, it has become somewhat automatic. It is a simple strategy that can help the quality of your life, regardless of the level of your pain.

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How to Control Anxiety and Pain Through Meditation - Pain News Network