Mindfulness practice 9,
Embodied Healing.
Get comfortable in a seated position.
Breathe.
With your eyes closed or gaze down,
Focus on your inhales and exhales.
Let go of any distractions that come into your awareness.
When you're ready,
Focus on something positive in your life.
It can be a person who makes you smile or a pet or an object that simply brings you happiness when you see it.
Experience in your body the joy that this person,
Animal,
Or object causes in you.
Notice your posture.
Open your chest and your heart to this being or thing that moves you.
This will serve as your anchoring feeling,
One you can call upon anytime you need it.
Take a few more inhales and exhales,
Soaking in the love.
When you are ready,
Consider a time when you have been triggered,
Something that caused a strong negative reaction in you.
Preferably a time that was recent,
But if not,
A time from your past will suffice.
Bring it up and sit with whatever comes up just for a moment.
As you recall the situation,
Focus less on the circumstances that made you triggered and more on the emotions that arise.
Are you angry,
Afraid,
Frustrated,
Ashamed,
Sad,
Anxious?
It sometimes helps to put a label on the feeling or feelings that arise.
Naming them can serve to minimize their power and intensity.
Breathe.
Make use of your observer here.
You are not your feelings.
Rather,
You are watching your feelings.
Ask yourself where in my body are these disturbing feelings located?
What do they feel like?
Be specific.
Name the sensation.
You might say,
I feel a heaviness in my chest,
Or my right knee feels tingly.
Describe it,
What it looks like,
Its texture,
Color,
Size,
Shape if it has one.
The more specific you can be,
The more clarity you will have about it and the less power it will have.
If it is overwhelming,
Stop for a moment and go back to your anchor,
Your person,
Animal,
Or object that brings you joy.
Breathe into that for a moment and when you are ready,
Come back to the disturbing feeling.
You can go back and forth as many times as you need to.
From the observer space,
Know that you are safe.
If you are able to,
See if you can soften toward the disturbing feeling at all.
Don't resist the sensation even if it is unpleasant.
Remember,
You just need to let it do its thing.
Don't interfere.
Simply breathe it in.
If anything,
See if you can offer the feeling some light,
Some love,
Some compassion,
Even some gratitude for protecting you from whatever it thought you needed protection from.
You can even offer it a hug and see what happens.
You are conversing with your ego or conditioned self here.
Be gentle and compassionate if at all possible.
This is very difficult and uncomfortable work and you're doing great.
Witness what happens as you are gentle with this feeling.
Without interfering,
Allow it to move through your body and find its way out of you.
Just watch and track it.
Don't push it.
Don't fight it.
Fighting it only serves to shove the thorn back into your skin.
Allow.
Feel free to use that as a mantra,
Repeating the word allow to yourself over and over.
Stay with it if you can.
Take a break whenever you need to,
But see if you can continue to return to the process.
If you can stay with it,
There's a good chance that the whole process will take no longer than 10 minutes or so.
You will know the thorn is working its way out if,
After feeling the uncomfortable feeling or feelings,
You begin to feel lighter and more expansive rather than contracted and tense.
Some people experience the feeling dissipate.
Others witness it leaving their bodies and floating away.
Whatever you experience is your body's process.
Honor that.
If tears arise,
Don't be afraid to let them come.
They are simply the result of an overflow of emotion that has been held inside for too long.
If you are feeling frustrated that things are not progressing or that the feelings are stuck and not moving through you,
Come back to your anchor for a while.
You can even take a break from this practice and try it again later.
There is no rush here.
All that is required is a commitment to your own health and well-being.
Feel free to stay seated and grounded for as long as you need or want to.
This is great work you are doing.
When you are ready,
Take a deep breath and flutter your eyes open.
Stretch your body and take a moment to transition your focus back into the room.
Breathe.
Look around the room and spend a few minutes focusing on the colors and shapes around you.
Get grounded by noticing where your body meets the seat you are in.
Notice your breath.
Welcome back.
Feel free to journal now about your experience or about any ideas or insights that arose for you during this process.
