Hello and welcome.
If you've been carrying the weight of shame,
Maybe over something from your past,
A mistake,
Or part of yourself that you struggle to love,
This practice is for you.
Together we'll explore how to transform shame into love and acceptance,
Not by rejecting it,
But by meeting it with breath,
Presence,
And acceptance.
This track is part of the Emotional Breathwork series,
And if you haven't already,
You can listen to the introductory track,
Transforming Heavy Emotions into Light,
To understand how these polarity practices work.
For now,
Just know that we'll be breathing one emotion in,
And another out,
Transforming shame into love and acceptance.
And remember that you're always in control if something really heavy arises as it can with an emotion like shame.
You can always pause,
Open your eyes,
And take a few grounding breaths.
And if something really deep surfaces that feels like it needs support,
Bring it to a trusted loved one,
A counselor,
Or a trauma-informed therapist.
This practice can complement healing,
But it's not meant to replace professional care.
Alright,
So if you're ready,
Find a comfortable position,
Either seated or lying down.
Let your hands rest gently on your lap,
Or beside your body.
Close your eyes and take a deep breath in through your nose,
Feeling all the way up.
And then exhale slowly through your mouth,
Letting your shoulders soften,
Feeling the weight of your body grounding down.
Feeling the support of the earth beneath you.
And breathing in again through the nose,
Feeling all the way up.
And exhaling and just letting go.
And with each intentional breath,
Your body begins to remember that it's safe.
That it's okay to soften.
That it's safe to feel.
So take another deep breath in through your nose,
Feeling all the way up.
And let it go,
Sighing it out perhaps.
And continue to take deep and full breaths,
Breathing in through the nose and out through your mouth,
Allowing the exhales to carry a little bit longer than your inhales.
Full breaths,
But no straining.
And as you continue to breathe,
Bring your awareness to your heart,
The center of your chest area,
And ask,
Allow,
Or welcome this space to open up.
Let your shoulders drop.
Perhaps feel your chest open up a little bit more,
Your shoulders broaden.
Notice any sensations here.
You could feel a warmth,
A tightness,
Or maybe numbness,
Nothing really at all.
Whatever you're feeling here is totally okay and perfect.
Now,
On your next inhale,
Begin to breathe in the energy of love and acceptance.
The feeling of being enough,
Just as you are right here,
Right now,
Because you are enough.
Let this feeling fill your chest and your belly and your whole body with every inhale.
If you can recall a memory or a particular person or experience that gave you this feeling of love and acceptance,
Allow yourself to lean on that memory to cultivate this feeling.
And just continue to take deep breaths in,
Filling up and breathing in that energy of love and acceptance.
Enjoying the sensations and feelings that creates in your body.
And letting your exhales carry a little bit longer,
Simply falling out.
The breath is just falling out,
No pushing or doing necessary on your part.
Continuing to take deep and full breaths,
Breathing in love,
Acceptance.
Maybe even a feeling of being appreciated.
So now,
As you continue to breathe,
On your next exhale,
I invite you to breathe out the feeling of shame,
Feeling love and acceptance filling your body on your inhale.
And on your exhale,
Just having the intention to let go of shame,
To let it just wisp away with the breath and get carried away,
Never to return.
Feeling the love and acceptance filling up your body,
Your heart,
Your entire being on the inhale.
And on those exhales,
Allowing shame to leave the body,
Being willing to feel any of it if it does come up,
But not necessarily seeking it out,
Just allowing the intention to welcome the releasing of it.
And simply continuing to breathe like this,
Deep inhales through the nose,
Welcoming love and acceptance into your body,
Into your being and into your heart.
And long drawn out exhales.
Allowing any tension,
Any shame,
Any self-judgment to leave your body.
Welcoming the sense of softening,
Of more ease.
Let this emotion that you're ready to let go of dissolve.
With the exhale,
Let any guilt or self-judgment just move away.
Allowing yourself to recognize the harshness you've been holding against yourself and to not judge yourself again for this,
But to compassionately see this process.
You don't need to fix it.
Just let your breath and intention carry it out.
And if it doesn't want to go,
If it's still heavy inside of you,
Accept that.
Be like a loving parent,
Holding space for your inner reality.
You're allowed to let the shame go.
You're allowed to love and accept yourself.
You don't have to do anything.
Just be willing to let it go.
So,
What might it feel like to allow guilt,
Self-judgment,
Harshness or shame to just let it go as you continue to breathe?
And so now,
As your breath continues,
Just let go of and drop the idea of releasing shame or negativity.
Allow your exhale to once again,
Just become an exhale of relaxation.
Allowing your breath to fall out without any doing.
And continuing to breathe in love and self-acceptance.
Allowing this love to fill your body to each and every crevice within your arms and your torso and your head.
And filling you up.
Perhaps it's a sensation.
Or perhaps you see it as a golden light of love and acceptance.
Whatever your experience is,
Just welcoming that experience of love and acceptance a little bit more.
Allow yourself to enjoy this experience of loving yourself,
Accepting yourself.
If that feels challenging,
Just the intention and the time you set aside to give it a shot.
Because over time,
With practices like these,
Your mind,
Body and spirit cannot help but to heal and transform.
As you've set into motion a new pattern,
You're bound to be successful.
It is safe to love yourself.
It is safe to forgive yourself.
And it is safe for you to see yourself exactly as you are,
For you to be seen.
I invite you to allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm now,
Letting go of control.
Notice any sensations in your body that have changed.
Perhaps there's a softness where tension used to be,
Or a warmth in your chest.
Maybe there's a quiet peace in simply being.
Whatever you feel is perfect.
Know that the love you feel is not a reflection of your past.
The love you cultivated here will continue to unfold within you,
Rippling through your body,
Your heart,
And your life.
Thank you for joining me in this practice.
May you walk forward with softness,
Self-love,
And acceptance.
Namaste.
