The expansion practice is an opportunity to mindfully pause with non-judgmental awareness to practice accepting or sitting with different thoughts and emotions that might be happening in that moment.
This is one way to make sure that you are the one making the choices that are needed to live a meaningful life and not the thoughts and the emotions making the choices for you.
So this is putting yourself back in the driver's seat so to speak while acknowledging not avoiding the thoughts and emotions that are there and it's safe to do this.
So go ahead and get comfortable you can sit for this practice or you can lay down whatever is the most comfortable or supportive for you.
You can close your eyes or keep them open and once you feel settled you might be aware that your body is breathing.
You don't have to change anything about the breath but just being aware of the body breathing to become even more connected to the present moment.
And then start by observing.
Observe a thought or an emotion that is happening right now.
Maybe this is a story the mind is telling you.
Maybe it's this story that is linked to an emotion or maybe there's no awareness of the story at all that's okay maybe it's just connection to the emotion.
But you would just say to yourself I am noticing the experience of fill in the blank.
I am noticing the experience of sadness or worry or anger or it could be I'm noticing the experience of the story I'm not good enough.
These are just examples.
What are you noticing?
And now to be curious allow your awareness to be in your body and if you could be aware of this thought or emotion in your body where do you feel it?
Or if you don't feel it right away you can ask yourself well if I did feel this thought or emotion in my body somewhere where might it be and how might it feel?
Where does it live in the body?
Now you can set aside any stories you know any thinking about this sensation and just be with the sensation itself.
There's no need to run away from it.
We're not trying to change it.
Just allowing that sensation to be there as it is.
And continuing to be curious how big is this sensation in the body?
What kind of shape does it have?
Is it on the surface of the body or inside the body or both?
Where is it the most intense?
Where is it the weakest?
Is the sensation still or pulsing or vibrating?
Is it heavy or light?
Is it hot or cold?
Maybe the sensation you wouldn't describe it in any of these ways.
What do you notice?
How the sensation feels?
What the experience is of it?
Now breathe into the sensation.
What does that mean?
That means different things for different people.
So when you hear breathe into the sensation,
What starts to happen naturally?
You don't have to change your breath,
But maybe you imagine the breath coming into the body and going straight to that sensation and then back out again.
Or maybe it moves through your body directly where the sensation is and back out again.
Just breathe into the body.
Again,
You're not trying to get rid of this sensation.
Breathe into the part of the body where that sensation lives.
And just observe.
And while you continue to breathe into this sensation,
Imagine that you could create some space around the sensation.
So you're not making the sensation bigger.
Just imagine that you could expand space around the sensation itself,
Almost like you could move the walls of a room back.
Imagine that the space could open up around the sensation,
Giving it plenty of room.
And just observe.
Does anything about the sensation change?
You're not trying to make it change,
But is there some kind of shift that occurs when you imagine giving it space?
Does nothing change at all?
Notice that too.
Continue to breathe into the sensation.
Continue to allow space around the sensation.
And if the sensation moves or changes,
You just follow that.
And just allow the sensation to be.
Simply observe it as it is.
The mind might start to comment on it,
Bringing the story back up again,
Or saying something about the sensation.
And you can just say to the mind,
Thank you.
And no,
Thank you.
I'm just going to observe the sensation as it is.
You might find that you want to fight or push away or struggle with the sensation.
Just notice if that happens and turn off the struggle,
Knowing that it's safe to be with the sensation as it is.
You're not trying to alter it or get rid of it.
It might change on its own.
And if it does,
Just observe it.
If it doesn't change,
That's okay,
Too.
Just allow it to be.
In this allowing,
You might say something kind to the sensation.
Oh,
Hello,
I see you're here.
You're welcome to be here.
Again,
The sensation might still be there.
But you just continue to breathe into it,
Create space around it and allow it to be until you feel as if any struggle with the sensation is gone.
The struggle with the sensation is gone.
And you are back in that driver's seat making choices for yourself in your life.
You are making those choices,
Even as you sit with or coexist with some uncomfortable sensations,
Even as you sit with and are aware of comfortable sensations.
So just remain here until you feel as if struggle,
Any sort of struggle with the sensation is gone.
