In this exercise,
I am going to share a mindfulness exercise you can use anytime to help alleviate feelings of anger and resentment that may be related to memories and unprocessed energy.
Mindfulness has been shown to help reduce anxiety,
Depression,
Pain and fatigue,
Improve self-esteem and energy,
Increase self-mastery and motivation and help with healing and relaxation.
For all these reasons,
It's a wonderful tool for managing anger,
Healing resentment and setting the stage for forgiveness.
Sometimes it's easy to forget that anger can be a healthy emotion.
It can come from a place of wishing things to be better or improved,
Like being angry about the injustices of slave labour around the world,
For example.
Expressing it in healthy ways is useful because bottling up anger numbs your other feelings as well and it wears on your health.
Pretending that you're not mad is inauthentic,
Which people can sense,
And it also has a harmful effect on your health when it's bottled up inside,
Often just getting hotter or more reactive.
On the other hand,
Anger can be an emotional rollercoaster that stresses the body and can often feel dangerous,
Destructive and scary,
For yourself and for others.
There are a few ways to bring mindfulness to anger.
One way is to try to defuse anger before there's a big blow-up.
See if you can blow off steam along the way.
If you feel anger or frustration building,
Try going for a walk,
Chatting with a friend,
Breathing fully in and out,
Or journaling about how you're feeling in other words.
Try not to accumulate a build-up of irritation as your day progresses.
It's also helpful to bring mindfulness to learning more about a situation before jumping to conclusions,
Sometimes asking questions or bringing curiosity to what you think you're angry about,
Can lead to the realization that you may have assumed something is different than how it actually is,
Or that it wasn't as black and white as you thought it was.
And finally,
When the emotion of anger is present,
See if you can sense internally into the softer emotions beneath anger,
Like hurt or fear.
Can you sense these underlying emotions anywhere in the body or mind?
If so,
Simply and gently acknowledge them with a sense of kindness and remember that these feelings are absolutely normal.
Stay with these sensations,
Share compassion for yourself and wish yourself well.
So with that in mind,
Let's practice these techniques in a mindfulness exercise together that you can do anytime when you're feeling anger.
So to begin,
Bring your awareness to whatever is going on for you right now.
Move the weight of your body up to gravity.
Allow your weight to sink into the points of contact between your body and the floor,
The chair or bed.
What sensations are there right now?
If you notice any tension or resistance towards painful or unpleasant sensations,
Gently turn towards them.
Accept them as best as you can.
If you begin to tense around a breath,
Then let go a little bit more with each out-breath,
Soften into gravity.
Notice any thoughts as they arise and pass through the mind.
See if you can let them come and go without being to identify with their content.
Observe them as if they were clouds in the sky.
Notice any feelings and emotions as they arise.
Can you let these come and go?
Include everything within your awareness with a kindly perspective.
Now allow your awareness to gather around the experience of the breath deep in the body.
Drop your awareness inside the breath and feel the different sensations in the front,
Back and sides of the torso.
Can you feel your awareness within the flow and movement of the breath?
Use the breath to anchor your awareness in the present moment,
Breathing in the body,
Noticing each inhale and exhale again and again.
Each time you notice your mind has wandered,
Gently guide the mind back to the breath deep in the body.
Now,
Gently expand your awareness to include the whole body.
Feel the weight and shape of the body as it sits,
Stands or lies.
If you've got any pain or discomfort,
Make sure your awareness stays open.
Cultivate acceptance or acknowledgement for all of your experience.
Great!
Thank you for your courage to do this exercise with me.
The more you practice this,
The more you'll be able to defuse anger and turn it into healthy action and decision-making for the benefit of yourself and others.
So,
To recap,
Sometimes it's easy to forget that anger can be a healthy emotion.
Expressing it in healthy ways is often useful.
Try to defuse anger before there's a big blow-up by blowing off steam along the way.
Also,
Bring mindfulness to learning more about a situation before jumping to conclusions.
And finally,
See if you can sense internally into the softer emotions beneath anger,
Like hurt or fear.
I hope these techniques help you.
Thank you for your mindfulness.
