Emotional Weather Check

In this guided body scan, we explore how our feeling states can be just like the weather - something to be accepted and observed, as opposed to being denied or fought against. We will observe how emotions manifest in our body and then reflect on how we might support and soothe ourselves through our unique emotional experience.

Transcript

Hi,

My name is Ash King and thank you so much for joining me today.

In this guided meditation,

We're going to be exploring the emotional states of our bodies right now.

And we're going to do it with a sense of curiosity and playfulness,

Where we don't want to be judging ourselves for feeling any kind of way.

We just want to develop a greater understanding of how certain feelings manifest in our bodies and what we can do about them.

So what I like to do most mornings is a little bit of an emotional weather check.

Now using weather is a great way to help us understand our emotions because our relationship to the weather is that it kind of is whatever it is.

We wake up some mornings and it's beautiful and bright and sunny without a cloud in the sky.

Other mornings,

It's drizzly and overcast,

Rainy,

Maybe there are thunderstorms.

So weather changes every day and we generally meet it for whatever it is.

We check the window and we see what we're in for and we go,

Okay,

I know what I need to get through the day.

Maybe I need an umbrella.

Maybe I need some sun cream and a hat.

So we can do a similar thing with our emotions.

What happens is some mornings we wake up and we might notice some feelings of anxiety or maybe we notice some feelings of sadness or frustration or stress.

Now the first thing that our brains often do in these situations is our rational mind rushes to make sense of this emotion.

It tries to tell us why we should be feeling anxious.

So once we're feeling those feelings of anxiety,

It might bring up a bunch of instances that we have experienced in the past that have made us anxious or maybe things that we think about that are coming up for our future that make us feel anxious.

And it kind of gets us on this treadmill of anxiety where the thoughts prompt the feelings and the feelings prompt the thoughts.

And we find ourselves a little bit stuck.

But what is sometimes a little bit more helpful is to recognize that sometimes emotions are just like weather in our bodies.

And sometimes we can be feeling certain types of feelings without any particular reason at all or we don't really need to spend a lot of our cognitive energy thinking about why we're feeling however we're feeling.

So understanding and recognizing our feelings do offer us great insight into how we may better be there for ourselves throughout the day.

And sometimes when we're feeling a little bit more vulnerable,

Maybe we're feeling a little low,

Maybe we're feeling a little stressed or a little anxious,

There are certain things that we can do to help support and soothe ourselves throughout the day just to make things a little bearable.

So what we're going to do in this guided meditation right now is we're going to do a quick body scan.

And we're going to try and recognize how certain emotions may be manifesting themselves in our bodies right now.

And afterwards,

We can use that as a little prompt to try and see what we can do to soothe or support ourselves as we go on throughout the day.

So let's kick off by finding a nice quiet place that we can have some time to ourselves for a little bit of a meditation.

So maybe find a comfy chair,

You can always sit on the floor or perhaps you'd prefer to lay down.

Now when you've found a place that's suitable,

I'd like for you to either take a nice loose focus of whatever's in front of you or if you prefer,

Just close down the eyes.

And now I'd like for you to move your focus onto your breathing.

Just nice and gently observing your inhale and exhale and perhaps noticing where you're feeling that breath in the body.

That'd be through the nostrils as you gently inhale and exhale.

Maybe it's the rise and fall of the chest or the abdomen.

Don't try to change or control your breathing here,

Just allowing it to come naturally.

And now we're going to move onto a body scan.

I would like for you to visualize a beautiful bright bar of light that's shimmering just above the top of your head.

Now gently this bar of light is going to start to descend and pass through all the areas of your body,

Almost like a scan.

It kicks off at the very top of the head and it passes through your skull and your forehead.

Pass the backs of the eyes and nose,

Through the ears,

Down through the mouth,

The tongue and jaw.

Now as you feel this bar of light move through your body,

I'd like for you to recognize how your body feels in those areas.

Notice if there's any sensations of looseness or tension.

Does it feel hot or cold?

Are there itchy feelings?

Feelings of movement?

Does it feel comfortable or uncomfortable?

Continuing with the scan,

Just allowing this bar of light to move down through your throat and the back of your neck,

Down past your shoulders,

Shoulder blades,

Your collarbone,

Through the ribs and chest,

Down through the tops of your arms,

Elbows,

Down through the bottoms of your arms,

Into your wrists,

Hands and fingers.

It passes through your stomach and abdomen,

Your lower back,

Through your waist and hips,

Down through your buttocks,

Your thighs,

Passing through the knees,

Your lower legs,

Through your ankles,

Feet and toes.

And reflecting on that scan,

What emotions can you connect with those physical manifestations of feelings that you experienced in this body scan?

Is there a name that helps you understand that feeling state?

Maybe it's anxiety or frustration.

Maybe it's calm,

Sadness,

Loneliness,

Excitement.

Understanding how we can link a feeling state to the feelings themselves help us understand how we might be there for ourselves and support ourselves when we're feeling some kind of way.

Now,

Just like the weather,

Our feelings are what they are and no type of will or intervention is really going to change how our feelings exist.

We merely have to let them run their course.

We can't bully a feeling away,

Nor can we try to ignore it because what happens is that those feelings will dig themselves deeper and deeper down into our bodies and they'll stay there.

They'll just hang out until we have the time and inclination to address them.

Addressing them doesn't mean having to fully make sense of why they're there all the time.

What it can mean is just recognizing them for what they are and allowing them to be there,

Accepting them,

Recognizing that just like the weather,

They too will pass.

What feelings were present for you in today's scan?

Do you find yourself reacting to the presence of those emotions?

If they're uncomfortable,

Do you find yourself wishing they would go away or thinking about things you can do to maybe try to get rid of them?

What are some healthy and nourishing ways that you might be able to support yourself whilst feeling this way?

Maybe it's taking some time out for some deep breathing and mindfulness.

Maybe it's journaling or a gratitude practice.

It's calling up a friend or shooting a friend a text message.

Maybe it's chatting to a therapist.

Maybe it's something soothing you can do for your body,

Drinking a big bottle of water or having a warm cup of tea.

Maybe it's a nice bath or a walk out in nature.

Maybe it's a run or a dance class.

Maybe it's something creative,

Using that as an outlet to express some of that feeling,

Creating art or making music.

The roadmap to feeling our feelings and soothing ourselves and being present with these feelings is going to look different for everybody.

Just like with the weather,

Firstly we need to be able to recognize what these feelings are.

Then that enables and empowers us to find ways that we can support ourselves through these feelings,

Just like you'd prepare yourself with an umbrella if you see that it's a bit rainy outside.

So your challenge going forward into the day is to see what you might be able to do for yourself and it doesn't need to be big or elaborate.

Maybe just a couple of minutes here and there that really acknowledge that you're giving yourself permission to feel however it is you do feel without trying to judge it or make too much sense of it without willing it away or trying to make it something other than what it is.

Remember your feelings can't hurt you and they can be unpleasant but feeling is what we do as human beings and the better we get at allowing ourselves to acknowledge and experience our feelings the greater our relationship will be with ourselves and with the world around us.

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I hope whatever your weather is you're able to be with yourself without judgment and see it through.