Hello,
This is Angie from Big Sky Mind.
Mindfulness is paying attention to what is happening in the present moment,
Right now.
It can help us notice how we feel and notice the world around us.
Mindfulness can help us calm down when we have a difficult emotion and it can help us feel happy too.
Today we're going to be mindful of our emotions or feelings.
We have physical sensations in our body,
Thoughts and emotions or feelings all the time.
It's normal to have all kinds of different emotions,
Happiness,
Sadness,
Anger,
Calm,
Surprise,
Nervousness and so on.
Being mindful of our emotions can help us.
If the emotion is one that feels good,
We can appreciate it more.
If the emotion is one that doesn't feel so good,
We can decide how we want to respond to it.
Our feelings often change depending on what is going on around us.
By paying attention to our feelings,
We can notice what they are and we can begin to choose how we respond to changes around us.
So when you're ready,
Let's get into a position for meditation.
Sitting comfortably on a chair with your feet flat on the ground,
I'm going to invite you to close your eyes.
If you'd rather not do this,
You can cast your gaze down towards your lap.
So let's start with a few long out breaths,
Letting the body settle on the chair,
Feeling the contact with the chair and the ground beneath our feet.
With each out breath,
Just allowing your body to settle a little more,
Releasing the weight of the body into the chair and into the ground.
With the in breath,
You might feel the body becoming more upright or open.
Settling and grounding with the out breath,
Upright and open with the in breath.
Letting the breath be natural and natural.
Beginning to notice where we feel the breath in the body.
Do you feel it in your belly,
Rising and falling with each in and out breath?
Do you feel it in your chest,
Rising and falling as you breathe in and out?
The breath coming like waves on a beach,
In and out without any effort.
Perhaps you feel the breath between your shoulders and your upper back.
Notice the whole body expanding in all directions as you breathe in and softening and settling back as you breathe out.
Easy in breath,
Easy out breath.
Noticing the physical sensations in your body as you breathe.
And you may also notice that thoughts are coming and going and that's completely fine.
Mindfulness is about noticing what's happening right now.
Let the thoughts come and go just as the breath comes and goes.
And now let's turn our attention to how we feel.
Maybe bring your focus towards the centre of your chest.
What's your emotional,
Your feeling weather like?
If you were to describe your feelings as weather,
Would they be sunny,
Bright?
Would they be stormy,
Windy?
Perhaps it's raining and dull.
How is your emotional weather?
Maybe it's a bright blue sky morning inside you.
Maybe it's a wild windy day,
Busy thoughts,
Lots of energy.
Maybe it's a rainy afternoon,
A little sad.
Maybe it's stormy,
A little worried.
What's your emotional weather like?
What feelings can you tune into?
If you find this difficult,
You can come back to your breath and your feet on the ground and the weight of your body on the chair.
Notice how your feelings change,
Just like other sensations and thoughts in your body.
Moving and shifting and changing as you watch them.
Where are you feeling these emotions in your body?
Maybe it is in your chest,
Maybe it's in your belly or somewhere else.
Watching the feelings flow and change.
Bring your weather,
Your emotional weather,
Change and flow.
And in a moment,
We're going to bring this meditation to a close.
So bring your awareness back to the weight of your body sitting,
Feet on the floor,
Breath coming and going.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
