Releasing Stress, Pain, Or Holding After Working With Others

I wrote this meditation in response to a request from a meditator who wanted a meditation that would help her release the stress, trauma, and pain she held after working with others. This meditation takes you step-by-step through the process of being with the pain you may be holding to letting it go, to be well held by the universe. It is now one of my favorites. I recorded it at the end of a day working with patients and felt a tremendous sense of relief and connection with my patients and the universe.
This track contains ambient sounds in the background

Transcript

Hello, My name is Catherine Cook-Katon. This meditation means a lot to me. It's for those who help and support others. If you have been with intense feelings, Narratives, And experiences in your work, This meditation is to help you ground and release any energy you may be holding or nurturing from the day. Before I start, Be sure you are seated in a comfortable position and feel well grounded. You'll want to engage your core and have enough support so you can extend through your spine. Your feet connecting to the floor, Both soles of the feet pressing down, Well connected to the floor. And then take a few deep breaths here, Allowing your mind to settle and open up into listening. Open up to the inquiry, To the possibility of this meditation for you. Perhaps let go of the need for this meditation or this moment to be any certain way. You're just aware of your breath as you breathe in and breathe out. Taking a few breaths here. First, Review your day in your mind. Perhaps it's your shift, Perhaps it's night. Prefer your last episode of work in your mind. A slow scan of each session or client or patient or experience that you had as you supported or cared for others. Maybe start at the beginning, Just an honoring or remembering of each experience. As you scan your day, Your sessions, Your experiences, Do so with a certain orientation of loving kindness to yourself and to those for whom you cared. Just a nice slow scanning. It's okay if you don't remember everything and we're not going for detail here, Just a feeling an honoring of the day. Perhaps you can say to yourself, I honor this important and beautiful work, The pain, The suffering, The overwhelm that lives in healing human connection. I honor this important and beautiful work, The pain, The suffering, The overwhelm that can live in healing human connection. I honor this important and beautiful work, The pain, The suffering, Even the overwhelm that lives in healing human connection. Now bring to your awareness your body. Include your heart and include your thinking self and breathe as you bring your whole body to your awareness from your toes, Legs, Through your hips, Your belly, Around your heart, Shoulders, Arms, Hands, Back up through your neck, All around your head, Your jaw, Your face, Your mouth, Your eyes, The crown of your head, Your whole body, Even into your brain, Your thinking self, Even into maybe even the ruminations about the day. You know they're okay. You can note them. You know it's filled with ruminations, Memories, This body filled with a lot. The support for those for whom you cared. So give a moment for the body to settle even more, The ruminations maybe to settle. Give yourself permission to settle the mind, Settle the body, Keeping the breath moving in and out. Gently scan your body with an orientation of loving kindness for anywhere you might be still holding or nurturing the discomfort, The stress, Or even the trauma that you've held for those for whom you've cared today. You might notice something like a heaviness in your heart or around your heart. You might notice a clenching of the hips, The shoulders, The neck, The jaw, A residual anger, A defensiveness, An attempt to defend or protect that's present. You might notice a longing to rescue, To forgive, Or to make things right. Gently scan your body and notice. As you notice, Select the sensations, The body memory, The holding, The feelings, Whatever is most prominent, And then become aware of how it's being held in your body, Where it sets most saliently. Bring your awareness to the most salient spot and allow your awareness, Your noticing, Your being with this sensation to soften the holding. Place your hands on the spot. If it's a smaller spot, You can layer the left hand on top of the right or perhaps a larger spot you can place your hands next to each other. If it's an even larger spot, You can move your hands simply rotating or in a circular motion on the area circulating here. So with your hands held or moving gently, Breathe here to offer a softness, A gentle offering of holding from your hands. As you do this, Offer to your body that it might consider letting go. Maybe offer to your body that this holding, This remembering, This pain can move from your body and into your hands. Perhaps your body would like to offer just some of this, Not all. Let your body release what it feels okay to release, Not forcing anything, Not making this be any certain way. Maybe just one tiny bit of letting go or maybe a rush of letting go. See what feels okay for your body. Holding your hands here as you give your body time and unlimited permission to let go. With this energy in your hands, Slowly move your hands from this place and bring them together hand to hand with a space between holding this energy between your two hands. And then gently bring your hands to your heart, Thumbs at the sternum and breathe here. Perhaps you offer this phrase, I honor this important and beautiful work, The pain, The suffering, The overwhelm that can live in the healing human connection. I honor this important and beautiful work, The pain, The suffering, Even the overwhelm that can live in healing human connection. I honor this important and beautiful work, The pain, The suffering, The overwhelm that can live in healing human connection. I'm breathing here. Slowly move your hands away from your heart and then gently opening your hands, The pinky is still touching, Opening them up and then eventually separating them from each other and placing your hands palms up, Facing up on your thighs, Feet pressed into the floor, Sitting bones grounded, Lifting up through your torso, Through the crown of your head, Breathing. Offer this energy to the universe to be well held, To be well held with the loving kindness present in the universe, To be well held by the trees, By the flowers, And by the water, And by the earth, Maybe by the Sun. Breathe and allow letting go, Letting go of this energy and releasing it to the universe to be well held. Also here let go of this need, Any need for this moment to be a certain way, That this letting go will happen exactly as it needs to, Allowing that maybe we can't fully understand, That we may not fully know, And trusting that the universe can hold this energy well. Now scan your body again, Maybe this one practice of release is enough for now, It's just right for you, Or maybe you'd like to repeat this practice to release another holding or more of this holding, You can decide, You can pause this meditation or you can move it back to work through one or two more offerings, Or you can move now to the sensation of your feet grounded, Your seat grounded, Your supported body and breath, As you breathe breath moving in and out of your body, And letting this be enough letting go for today. You can notice the sensation of having shared through the release of the holding or nurturing work you are doing in your body, Sharing this, This holding with the universe, Knowing it's good and important to share this honor, This pain, This suffering, This work with the universe, That you are not to hold this alone. Breathe here connected in a deep deep partnership with the universe. Take a few breaths here, Allow this meditation to settle, Maybe you begin to deepen and lengthen your breaths just a little bit, Your feet grounded, Sit bones grounded, Well supported, Noticing the breathing in and noticing the breathing out. You might want to take a few moments here just breathing, Considering what this meditation means to you or for you. You might even want to journal about this meditation and what you might have noticed or considered in your mind. Thank yourself for taking a few moments to listen and wonder and center and I thank you so much for listening.