Before we begin,
Take some time to find yourself in a comfortable position,
Shut your eyes if that feels good,
And just connecting with how your body feels today.
Noticing your breath,
Gravity's pull on your body,
Your spine,
Maybe noticing your heartbeat.
You could even let your body find a little bit of movement,
Maybe swaying a little bit,
Noticing if there's tension in any places,
And then tuning in to the emotional experience of your body,
Paying attention without judgment to where emotion is held in your body,
Just greeting any emotion you notice,
Maybe letting it know I'm right here with you,
Giving the emotion total permission to be present,
And just observing.
How does it exist inside you?
Is there a weight to it?
A quality?
Is it solid or soft?
Is there color?
Or texture?
Is it still?
Does it want to move around?
And then engaging a little bit deeper,
You could envision softly holding the emotion.
You could check in.
Does the emotion have a voice or sound to it?
You could ask,
Is there anything you want or need?
Sharing with the emotion,
Compassion,
Maybe saying I'm just here to know you,
To understand you,
And just witnessing,
Listening.
We'll take about ten breaths in this space,
Just engaging with the emotion.
If it needs to move or sound,
Giving yourself total permission,
Letting the emotion flow in your body.
It could look like tears or even some sounds of anger.
Anything is allowed in this space.
Your body may want to sway or shake.
And we'll take a few more breaths in this space.
And when that experience feels complete,
Bringing into your mind's eye the image of a container.
Whatever comes up first is right for you.
And we'll place this emotion,
Pulling it from your body.
We can place it into the container.
Sharing with it,
It's safe in this container.
You have access to it.
You can come back.
You will come back.
So pulling all that emotion from your body into that container.
And just scanning through,
Are there any thoughts or images that need to go in there too?
And when that feels complete,
Just doing another scan for anything left.
And when you feel like you got everything that's ready to go in the container today,
We'll close the container.
Just noticing what type of top it has.
And noticing if you just need to shut it.
You may feel a desire to lock it.
Just doing whatever feels right.
And then we'll place this container wherever you feel it needs to go for today.
It may be very far from you,
Under a mountain in another country,
Or in the bottom of the ocean.
Or it may need to be much closer.
Maybe just at your feet,
In a closet,
In your home,
Anywhere in between.
Again,
Trusting your instinct,
Whatever comes up first tends to be right for you.
And once we place the container where it belongs,
Revisiting your body,
Experiencing who you are,
Experiencing some relief from the emotion,
Maybe reconnecting with your breath,
With your spiral,
Feeling gravity's pull on your body,
Noticing your heartbeat,
And just acknowledging the truth that emotion is just a visitor in our body.
And when you feel ready,
Coming back to your current state,
Maybe wiggling your toes,
Squeezing your hands together,
Maybe briefly placing the palms of your hands over your eyes,
And then gently opening your eyes.
