Can Meditation Help with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome? A Complete Guide for Beginners

Estimated reading time: 9 minutesThe short answer is yes, meditation can absolutely support people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and Hypermobility Spectrum Disorder.

Living with EDS or HSD often means navigating a complex world involving pain, fatigue, anxiety, and a sensitized nervous system.

I think when someone suggests meditation or mindfulness to us, the first response may be an eyeroll.

We can wonder how meditation could help with such complex issues. How could something as simple and accessible as meditation make a difference?

While it cannot change our connective tissue, of course, it can influence the systems that shape our pain, tension, stress, and overall quality of life. There is research on the power of meditation to support this.

I trained in transcendental meditation back in 2017 after my mother died. I was struggling with my health and, in particular, a lengthy mast cell reaction to stress.

Since then, I have integrated meditation into my own daily routine and include it as a key part of the Integral Movement Method for hypermobility.

In this blog, I’d like to explore what it actually is and how it can support us.

Key Takeaways: Can Meditation Help with EDS?

Yes, meditation supports people with EDS and HSD by calming the nervous system, reducing chronic sympathetic activation, and helping manage nociplastic pain. While it can’t change connective tissue, it influences pain, tension, and quality of life. You don’t need to sit still—try lying down, movement-based practices like the Integral Movement Method, or guided meditations. Start with just a few minutes daily in whatever position feels comfortable.

What is meditation?

Meditation is often misunderstood to mean you need to empty your mind. That is very difficult – the mind is always on the lookout for things to think about.

Meditation is the practice of paying attention on purpose; usually on something like the breath, the body’s sensations, or the present moment.

That’s why meditation can take many forms. It doesn’t mean we have to sit cross-legged on a yoga mat.

Some Types of Meditation

• Breath awareness : This is very important for EDS and HSD due to our breathing pattern disorders and tension patterns.
  • Some of us have a hard time with breathing exercises, especially if we have POTS, breath holding, or anxiety around breathing. Use grounded, or body scans first, and layer in breathwork later.

• Body scans: These can help identify tension in the tissues.
  • This can support interoception, pain processing, and relaxation. The key is gentle, non-judgmental noticing. Try not to analyse how you feel.

• Guided relaxations: as I have included in The Zebra Club app. This can help if your mind feels busy
  • I enjoy recording these meditations that can guide someone through a practice like releasing tension and bracing in a certain part of the body. You can find a number of these in the Calm Your Mind section of the app.

• Mindfulness practices: This involves being present in what we are doing, in the moment
  • One example of this is mindful eating, where you only focus on the act of eating or drinking. Like slowly tasting a piece of fruit, noticing texture, flavor, and aroma. Or, feeling the temperature, weight, and shape of a cup while drinking

• Gentle visualization: This can include gently picturing a scene, a sensation, or an outcome. The brain loves visualization, and it can help deepen presence and relaxation.
  • These are helpful when pain makes body awareness uncomfortable. Visualization gives the mind something to focus on.

• Movement-based meditative practices: This is the practice of mindful movement and is very much a part of the Integral Movement Method and what we practice in The Zebra Club.
  • Perfect if you struggle to sit still – try IMM micro movements – we have a brand new foundations level 1 course on the app just for this. Gentle rocking is soothing.

Meditation can be more than mental exercise. It can become a physiological tool that can shift our bodies and minds out of fight or flight and into a calmer, safe place where healing and nervous system regulation can begin.

Understanding Why Meditation Works for EDS and Pain: Some Research

Pain is complex, with different types and many factors that influence how it starts, how we feel it, how long it lasts, and how strong it is (1).

Part of the pain experience involves the interaction of the central nervous system with emotion and thought responses. These can interact with each other and even amplify pain (1).

Aspects of this can be seen in scans of brain activity showing that pain involves areas of sensory, cognitive, and psychological processing (1)

Meditation has been shown to help regulate the body and mind, and there are a large number of studies studying the impact of meditation on pain experiences (1).

• Mindfulness Meditation reduces pain signaling

  • A new study found that both a placebo cream and a simple breathing exercise lowered pain from a safe heat stimulus. But real mindfulness meditation worked much better, reducing activity in the parts of the brain that create pain signals, which the other two did not. (2)

• Mindfulness meditation can improve pain symptoms in chronic pain conditions

  • Research spans its effectiveness in fibromyalgia, migraine, chronic pelvic pain, irritable bowel syndrome, and more (3).

• Meditation may impact how we emotionally respond to pain (3)

  • Study participants reported meditation helps make pain feel shorter and softer, reduces dwelling on it, and lets people experience it without judgment.

• Meditation may impact how the brain amplifies pain signals (3)

When it specifically comes to hypermobility, there is little research.

A recent study of people with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome found that an online 2-week-long daily meditation program led to both improvements in pain experience and in quality of life scores (4).

Why Exercise Alone Doesn’t Work for Hypermobility

When I created The Zebra Club and the IMM, I knew that movement and exercise were not enough. People were trying to exercise and add stability and strength work without addressing key factors first, leading to pain and flares.

The hypermobile body is deeply influenced by the autonomic nervous system. This is the system that governs stress responses, muscle tensions, heart rate, digestion, and pain sensitivity.

Because jumping straight into strength work didn’t seem to be effective for hypermobile people, I learned we needed to address the nervous system regulation first.

And that’s where the IMM is so successful for so many people around the world. It introduced a much-needed paradigm shift in how to approach movement and exercise in hypermobility.

My own recovery journey taught me this. It wasn’t about strengthening my muscles or fixing my alignment by stacking my bones.

It was learning how to calm my nervous system, reduce my reactivity and sensitivity, learn to breathe calmly and effectively, and reconnect with my body in a more compassionate way. Meditation, which I found during a time of extreme personal challenge, became very powerful.

I integrated it into my work because

• Many people with EDS and HSD that I saw in the clinic were experiencing chronic sympathetic activation
• Pain becomes louder and more persistent when the nervous system feels unsafe. I developed the 3 S’s – Safety, Stability, and Strength – in that order
• Mind-body approaches can reduce hypervigilance
• It is accessible to everyone (though you may need to start small and explore different approaches)
• It helps prepare the body for slow, mindful movements that improve control and proprioception.

The EDS-Nervous System Connection

People with EDS and HSD have higher rates of dysautonomia and difficulty regulating the autonomic nervous system. When this becomes dysregulated, the whole system can feel on edge.

Pain and instability create constant alerts. Joint instability and subluxations can keep the brain in monitoring mode. This can contribute to sympathetic dominance.

Many people live in a chronic fight or flight without realizing it. I certainly did for most of my life. The vagus nerve can struggle to downregulate. The decreases the body’s ability to rest, digest, heal, and process pain signals calmly.

Over time, central sensitization can occur, and the brain becomes more sensitive to pain, pressure, and movement. We call this nociplastic pain now.

This is not psychological but physiological. A highly stressed and dysregulated nervous system makes pain louder and movement harder. This is how meditation can really help with nervous system regulation.

Meditation supports our much-needed nervous system regulation in a few ways:

• Increases parasympathetic activity and promotes the relaxation response
• It reduces central sensitization – regular meditation changes how the brain processes information (1)
• It quiets hypervigilance – meditation helps us to notice symptoms and sensations without becoming alarmed by them.
• It improves breath control – very helpful in EDS
• It enhances proprioception and body awareness by fostering a gentle, safer awareness of the body

A mindful walk can count as meditation.

But I can’t sit still!

Why Traditional Meditation Feels Impossible with EDS

Being unable to sit still is so common with hypermobility. Traditional meditation styles don’t consider the realities of living in a hypermobile or neurodivergent body.

It can seem challenging; let’s examine some common issues.

• Difficulty sitting in one position

  • Sitting can be uncomfortable and painful for some. The body may feel restless or unstable in one position. The good news is you can do meditation in any position.

• Brain fog and concentration difficulties

  • Trying to focus on nothing can feel frustrating or impossible. This doesn’t mean meditation isn’t right for you – we can adapt the style. This may involve following a guided hypermobility-specific meditation, like in The Zebra Club.

• Neurodivergence

  • With neurodivergence, stillness can feel dysregulating, and traditional meditation can trigger discomfort. Movement-based, guided, or sensory-friendly methods like holding a smooth stone or using a fidget can work far better.
  • You can also adapt body scans, like skipping certain areas where the sensations are too strong, or gently touching the area.

• Restlessness from dysautonomia

  • With blood pooling, traditional upright methods just might not work. It’s perfectly ok to meditate lying down. You may also want to go gently with breathwork and try shorter sessions.

• Fear that “doing it wrong” means it won’t work.

  • There really isn’t a right or wrong way to meditate. It’s about being comfortable and being present, however that looks for you.

The Truth: Meditation Doesn’t Require Sitting Still

Alternative Meditation Positions for EDS and hypermobility

• Dynamic meditation: This can involve gentle, mindful movements, like in the many classes I have on YouTube or The Zebra Club. Check out this Parasympathetic class.
• Lying down: I love lying down with my legs over a bolster
• Walking meditation: Think of forest bathing, which can involve noticing and paying attention to your environment around you.
• Using props to get comfortable: Try blankets, pillows, bolsters, eye masks, essential oil diffusers – all good
• Using guided meditations: these can be really helpful, especially when starting out. Follow the voice of someone else. I love the wide range of hypermobile meditations on The Zebra Club.

How to Start Meditating with EDS: Tips for Beginners

Meditation for EDS doesn’t need to look like traditional meditation. In fact, it probably shouldn’t. The goal isn’t to force stillness or silence but rather to create a sense of safety and regulation in a body that often feels unpredictable.

Here are some key takeaways for beginners (But may also be helpful if you have been meditating for a while):

1. Take whatever position feels comfortable. As I said above, lie down, sit in chair, or a recliner. Just find a position you can relax in.
2. Meditation can be movement: Try a gentle Zebra Club class, a walking meditation, or even gentle rocking or micro moves while listening to a meditation
3. Comfort is essential: We need to feel at ease. Often your temperature may lower if you are still for a while, grab your favorite blanket.
4. It’s OK if you fall asleep: Remember, no right or wrong here, enjoy the rest! (You might want to set an alarm if you have somewhere to be!)
5. Start Slow: It can be as short as a few minutes and work up slowly from there.
6. You don’t need a quiet mind to meditate: The only task is to notice the thoughts without following them. For brain fog, short micro meditations often work best.
7. If your pain gets worse when you focus on the body: try meditations that do not focus on the body, like a guided walking meditation or external focus like guided visualization.
8. If you struggle to be consistent: Set an alarm for the same time every day, or make a calendar where you can check off days.

A Note on Breathing Exercises

Breathwork is one of the simplest and powerful tools for nervous system regulation. It can help reduce pain signals, anxiety, improve posture over time, and can even help improve POTS and fatigue.

Not everyone finds it calming at first. Some of us with anxiety, trauma history, neurodivergence, or POTS can find breath focus uncomfortable or triggering.

To work around this, don’t start with the breath – do some grounded work like gentle rocking, feeling your feet in the ground, or a guided visualization.

Try a Guided Self-Compassion Meditation

In this video I give a brief introduction to the helpful practice of self-compassion, followed by a guided meditation for a little practice. I hope you enjoy it.

FAQ

What’s the best meditation position for hypermobility?

The best meditation position for hypermobility is whatever feels most comfortable—lying down with legs elevated, sitting in a supportive chair, or even gentle movement. There’s no requirement to sit cross-legged. People with EDS and HSD should prioritize comfort and joint support over traditional positions.

What type of meditation is best for EDS?

Guided meditation and movement-based practices work best for EDS because they accommodate pain, dysautonomia, and difficulty sitting still. Body scans, gentle visualization, breath awareness, and mindful movement address the nervous system dysregulation common in hypermobility while being accessible for people with brain fog or joint instability.

Can meditation actually help with chronic pain from EDS?

Jeannie Di Bon

Jeannie Di Bon is a movement therapist, educator and author specializing in hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome and chronic pain. She is the founder of The Zebra Club app and the creator of the Integral Movement Method.