Mindful Moment: Breathing Through Difficulty

Mindful Moments from Action for Happiness, number 4 of 12

Life has its ups and downs - we all experience moments of difficulty. Having tools we can rely on when times get tough can be really useful. This mindful moment is designed to help us tune in to our breathing as a way of making it through difficult moments.

Enjoy your practice and share it with others!

Transcript

Hi, And welcome to this Mindful Moment practice, Breathing Through Difficulty. In this exercise, We're going to be looking at how we can take care of challenging emotions in the moment when they come up. We'll begin in a familiar way. So just notice how you're sitting right now, Where your body is in contact with whatever is supporting you. And do what you need to do to let go of any tension and feel a bit more at ease. And we can begin with a couple of slower breaths, In through the nose, And out through the mouth. And as our breathing stabilises into a rhythm that feels good for us, We can begin to let ourselves relax. The muscles of the face, The forehead, The jaw, Bringing some ease to the neck. Letting the shoulders drop, Releasing the belly. Just enjoying breathing in a natural way. And now I want you to bring to mind a situation in your life which might be in need of some healing attention. You don't need to pick the most difficult thing. Perhaps somewhere you've been judging or blaming yourself, Or a situation in which you're just having a bit of a hard time. Be aware of your breath, Gently passing in and out of your body. At any time, You can return here as a place of refuge if feelings become too much to handle. So turning towards the situation that is bringing up difficult feelings for us, And just begin to recognise whatever emotion or feeling is coming up the strongest. It might be blame or judgement, Fear, Anxiety, Anger, Frustration or confusion. Just inwardly name whatever you are aware of. This can take some courage, As many of us have learned to push away difficult feelings. But for this exercise, We're seeing what it's like to just let them be here. Is there a particular place in the body where the feelings are coming up the strongest? If so, You might like to gently place your hand there. And as we practice being present for the feelings connected to this difficult situation, We can ask ourselves, What are these feelings calling out for? Perhaps acceptance, Forgiveness, Understanding, Compassion, Release or belonging. Notice how things shift when you choose to stay with and support your feelings. Just choosing to do this is already an act of compassion, Present in your touch, Your breathing, Your attention. Before we bring this practice to a close, We can offer a few last intentional breaths to our feelings. Breathing in, I am aware of difficult feelings inside me. Breathing out, I offer them exactly what they need. Thank you.