This is a meditation you can practice whenever you feel distressed in your daily life.
To begin,
I want you to find a place where you won't be disturbed for at least 15 minutes.
Turn off the ringer on your smartphone.
Find a comfortable place to relax.
You might choose to sit or lay down.
What's important here is that you're comfortable.
Put one hand on your chest and one hand on your belly.
Allow your belly to gently expand as you breathe in and effortlessly collapse as you breathe out.
In like a balloon in your belly is expanding.
And out like the balloon in your belly is deflating.
Find a slow,
Natural rhythm of breathing and allow your body and mind to relax.
In this meditation,
Your breath will be the center of your awareness.
Thoughts may arise as you're practicing your diaphragmatic breathing.
Simply notice them and gently let them go.
Come back to the breath and where you notice it in your body.
Continue to practice this way for another minute.
Come in.
When you are ready,
Discover where the stress or disperse is.
The most difficult emotion is showing up in your body.
As you mentally scan your body,
You might notice tension,
Pain,
Or other sensations.
Slowly notice it with gentle awareness and kindness,
And place your attention here for a moment.
Now soften toward that stress or difficult emotion in your body.
Allow the muscles to release around it.
Just noticing the feeling or emotion.
Not worrying about trying to control it or push it away.
Your body can be soft around the edges of this feeling,
Making room for it.
Letting it go.
Letting go of tension around the edges of the feeling.
As you're noticing,
You might experience too much discomfort from an emotion that's okay.
You're doing your best and you're noting that your experience is what it is and allowing it.
Slowly return to the rising and falling of the breath in your belly.
Your breath is your anchor.
With gentle kindness,
Notice the emotion,
But don't get pulled into it.
Come back to the breath in your belly.
As you breathe in,
The belly expands,
And as you breathe out,
The belly deflates.
You might notice a troubling thought arise.
With gentle kindness,
Simply notice it and allow it to go.
Come back now to the breath in your belly,
Noticing the sensations as you breathe in and your belly expands,
And the sensation of air as you breathe out.
Now with great care and compassion,
We're going to hold that feeling or emotion.
I want you to move your hand to cover and touch the spot where you feel the emotion in your body.
Breathing into that feeling,
Breathing in compassion and kindness for that stress or painful emotion.
This space is yours to take care of,
To hold as if it were precious and needing your love.
As we do this,
We might notice a difficult thought arise or our mind may wander off into the future or towards a judgment thought with kindness and gentleness.
Notice this and accept it.
Then I want you to let it go.
Allow this feeling or emotion to be just as it is without trying to change it.
How often in our life we're pushed to change ourselves or others.
In this moment,
No change is necessary.
I simply want you to show up and be with what is.
You might choose to let it go or it might stay.
Let it change or not change.
Allow it to be where it is or moving.
Simply allow it to be what it is.
Having room for it is our only job here.
We are holding this emotion and accepting its presence in your body and in your life.
Soften.
Hold.
Let it be.
Soften.
Hold.
Let it be.
Soften.
Hold.
Let it be.
Take these words to yourself now.
Soften.
Hold.
Let it be.
Accepting this pain with so much kindness and gentleness,
Allowing it to stay if it wishes or leaving or changing.
As you continue,
You may find the emotion moves into your body or even changes into another emotion.
Try staying with your experience.
Continue to use this phrase.
Soften.
Hold.
Let it be.
Beautiful.
Return your attention to your breath.
Simply notice your belly again.
As you breathe in,
The belly expands like a balloon.
And as you breathe out,
The belly falls just as if a balloon were deflating.
Breathe in and out.
When you are ready,
Slowly open your eyes.
