Emotional Processing Technique

A guided practice for meeting a difficult emotion through the body, so it can move through and soften. This can be used the moment you feel frustration, anxiety, panic or you've been triggered by something. It can also be used at times you're settled, so you can practice the technique to be able to call on it the next time you do have a difficult emotion.
Photo by Olena Bohovyk from Pexels

Transcript

Welcome, My name's Yvonne and I'll be guiding you through the emotional processing meditation today. It's a gentle practice you can return to whenever you're feeling upset or unsettled or triggered or when an emotion seems to be stuck with you. And the word emotion comes from the Latin, Meaning to move out. And you think of the word emotion, Energy in motion. And that's exactly what our emotions want to do. They want to move through us and out. When we push them away, They tend to stay. What we resist persists. But when we give them our gentle attention, They can begin to move. Settling into a comfortable position with your back supported and knowing that you can adjust your position or open your eyes at any time. You're always in charge of how deeply you go today and acknowledging yourself for being willing to sit with what's here now and gently floating your eyes closed. At the end of this meditation, I'll say the phrase, Go gently. So until you hear that, Let's be in this together. Tuning now into the natural rhythm of your breath and not trying to change it in any way. Gently deepening your breath now, Bringing it right down into your belly. And feeling your belly rise with each inhale and fall with each exhale. Allowing your exhale to become just a little longer than your inhale. And in doing so feeling your body settle and soften. Knowing you can return to this longer exhale breath at any time during our practice if you need a moment to steady yourself. For now returning your breath to its natural rhythm. So if you haven't come to this meditation with a feeling you want to process, I invite you to bring to mind a recent moment where you felt upset in some way. Frustrated or sad or worried, Angry, Anxious or hurt. Choosing something mild to moderate for today, Perhaps a 3 or a 4 out of 10, Rather than the hardest thing you've carried recently. And as you bring that to mind or if you brought a feeling with you, What happened just before this feeling? Where were you? Who was there? What was said or done. And most importantly, How did it make you feel? Knowing that you're safe in this moment, Allowing those feelings to arise in your body now. Intensify just a little. If nothing comes to mind or the feelings don't come, That's also perfectly okay. You can join in in the next step. And gently asking yourself, What exactly is this emotion that I'm feeling? Can I name it? Can I find a label for it? Don't force that, It's okay if you can't. Every emotion has a home in the body. Usually we feel a sensation first and the emotion is sending that sensation and feeling to us as a message that there's an emotion that wants to be processed. So gently scanning your body right now and looking for the physical sensation that's attached. To the emotion. Have a look for the feeling, The sensation. What can you feel right now? Scanning your body from top to bottom, Starting with your head, You might feel a tightness around your face. Perhaps you notice a sensation in your chest. Your back, Your throat, Your belly. Or somewhere else, Or perhaps even there's more than one place, Just resting your attention on the place where the sensation feels the strongest. And if you weren't able to bring up a feeling earlier, Simply scanning your body for any place where you notice a strong sensation and joining in here. Beginning to have a curiosity, Exploring this sensation. What kind of sensation is it? Just becoming aware. Is it tingling? Is it pulsing? Is it a pressure or a tightness? Is there some heat? Is there an ache? Describing it to yourself as best you can. And it's okay if nothing comes easily. Keeping your attention resting gently on that sensation. We're going to go through a few questions now and there are no right answers, Just simply noticing and becoming aware. Of what's true for you right now. Knowing that you're safe in this moment. How intense is the sensation right now on a scale of 0 to 10, Where 10 is the most intense? Just answering these questions silently in your mind, Becoming aware of those answers. If you had to give this sensation a shape, What shape is it right now? Perhaps it's round or oblong or long and thin. Perhaps it's an irregular random shape. And what size is it right now? How wide is it? How deep does it go? How close is it to the surface of your skin? Does it remind you of an object like a marble or a tennis ball or a lump of clay? How about a texture? Is it hard and smooth like steel? Or is it brittle like glass? Is it spiky? Is it soft? Is it heavy like wet sand? Or is it soft and fluffy like cotton wool? Or perhaps it's somewhere in between like a dense rubber? Staying with this, If it had a colour, What colour would it be? Just making your best guess. What shade of that colour is it? Does it look shiny or dull or matte? And what temperature is it right now? Is it neutral like your body or is it lukewarm or hot or cold? Giving it a number, A temperature. And where is this sensation exactly in your body right now? Perhaps bring your hand to that place to really have a full awareness of where the feeling sits in your body. And if the sensation feels stronger at first, That's completely natural. We've spent so long not looking at it that it might feel quite intense at first, Just staying with it gently. Continuing to rest your attention on the sensation and checking in again, Not trying to change it in any way, Just noticing, Just allowing. How intense is it now from zero to ten? And what shape is it now? Has the shape changed? And what size is it now? How about the texture? Has that changed? Is it spiky or smooth or fluffy? And the color, What color is it now, This sensation, This feeling? And the temperature, What temperature is it now? Has that changed? And where is this sensation located in your body? Is it in the same place? Has it moved? Noticing whether anything has shifted since we began. Perhaps the sensation is smaller or bigger or softer, Lighter, Perhaps it's a different color. Maybe it's exactly the same and that's okay too. You can return to this practice as many times as you need. For now letting go of your focus on the sensation and no longer holding your attention there. Simply resting and allowing whatever has moved to keep on settling in its own time. I'll just give you some silent time for the moment. Taking a few deep cleansing breaths now as you come back into your space. Deep inhales and with every exhale just intending to release any energy that's no longer serving you. Gently wiggling your fingers and toes and stretching any part of your body that's calling for some movement. And placing a hand on the place in your body where the sensation was and thanking your body and thanking yourself for having the courage to turn towards it rather than sweeping it under the carpet. Ignoring it or pushing it away. And when you're ready, Gently opening your eyes and becoming accustomed to the space around you again. I like to give myself a little actual pat on the back sometimes too. And remembering that you can use this practice anytime you're feeling upset or triggered or even if you're feeling a rising anxiety or panic attack, Any kind of strong feeling that comes up in life or during your meditation. Coming back to this emotional processing technique where you're asking yourself, What intensity is this? What size is it? What temperature is it? What color is it? Asking these objectifying questions assist you to really allow the emotion and the sensation to be there and have the moment that it's asking for. And if what you're carrying feels too big to hold alone, Please reach out to someone you trust or a professional who can support you. Thanks for joining me and go gently.