To start this practice of turning towards difficult emotions,
Find a comfortable posture and close down the eyes if that's comfortable for you.
Otherwise you can keep them open with a soft downward gaze so you can turn your attention inward.
Just starting with a couple deep breaths,
Allowing the body to relax into your supports,
Feeling the feet on the floor,
Sensing the stability and steadiness of the earth beneath the feet,
Feeling the body in your seat,
Feeling into the sense of stability and steadiness of these supports,
Just allowing your body to further relax into these supports.
Knowing that if at any point during the meditation you're feeling unsteady or ungrounded in the mind or body,
You can always come back and connect with this sense of steadiness and groundedness.
So to start this turning towards difficult emotions,
See if you can name the difficult emotion or emotions that are showing up right now.
Maybe it's sadness,
Anxiety,
Fear,
Anger,
Shame,
Grief.
You might try to avoid thinking I'm sad or anxious or I'm afraid.
Rather noting it in a way that's not facilitating an identification with the emotion.
Something like sadness is here or anxiety is here,
Fear is here.
If you don't have a name for the emotion,
You might just note unpleasant feeling is here.
And now seeing if you can find where this emotion is living in the body.
So it might be the chest or belly,
The head or the throat,
Maybe the shoulders.
And seeing if you can bring a sense of curiosity to the sensations that are showing up.
So maybe it's a tightness,
Constriction or tension,
Repulsing or tingling,
Nausea.
Does it seem to have a shape?
Can you sense the edges?
If you can,
Are those edges hard or soft?
Is there a center to this emotion or these sensations?
Do the edges or the center,
Do they change in shape?
Maybe it holds its shape.
Does it move or pulse?
Does the intensity change or does it seem pretty constant?
It's really bringing a sense of curiosity.
How is this emotion,
How are these sensations in the body right now?
Without judging or resisting,
Just getting curious.
How are these sensations right now?
You might notice that thoughts arise about the situation that triggered the emotions,
Maybe thoughts about the emotions themselves,
Which is completely normal and expected.
When they do arise,
Just gently redirect your attention back to the sensations of the emotion in the body.
And as you bring the kind curiosity to the sensations,
You might invite the body and mind to open around the sensations,
Making space for them.
When we contract and brace against the emotions,
It leaves very little space for them to pass through.
This can create more discomfort,
More suffering.
Really just opening,
Making space for them to be here.
You might also invite a softening around these sensations,
Around the emotion.
You compare these with your breath as well.
So opening and making space on the in-breath and softening around the emotion with the out-breath.
Opening with the in-breath,
Softening with the out-breath.
You can also bring a sense of self-compassion to this emotion.
So if you're comfortable,
You might bring a hand to where the emotion lives,
As if to hold and bring comfort to the emotion.
You might try rubbing or patting the area with that warmth and care.
So rather than trying to push away or resist the emotion,
We're bringing the sense of care and comfort to it.
Similar to what you might do with a child or a friend who's experiencing difficulty.
You might even include a comforting mantra like,
This will pass.
I'm here with you.
I can be with this.
Whatever it feels like that emotion needs to hear.
Leave some quiet space to practice in a way that feels most helpful for the last few moments.
So that might be continuing with bringing self-compassion to the emotion.
It might be bringing that curiosity to the sensations.
It might be practicing the opening and softening around the emotion or some combination of these.
So whatever feels best for you in this moment,
I encourage you to practice with that.
As we bring the practice to a close,
Start to feel your body on your supports,
Feet on the ground,
Body in your seat.
Feeling the shape of the body,
Posture of the body.
A sense of the body in the room.
It feels like for the body to be in the space.
Noticing any sounds around you.
The temperature in the room.
And when you're ready,
Opening the eyes and mindfully seeing the space around you.
