This meditation is to help you manage difficult emotions or difficult feelings,
Maybe anxiety or depression or maybe conflict.
So if you are in a great mood and having a wonderful day,
This might not be the meditation for you.
But if you're struggling with something right now,
Maybe this will help.
As with all meditations,
If at any time your discomfort increases,
You're feeling triggered,
You are feeling uncomfortable and the distress is greater than you can handle in this moment,
It's always okay to stop.
It's always okay to move,
Open your eyes,
Come back to the meditation at a time when it feels better.
So when you're ready,
Closing your eyes,
Arranging yourself in a comfortable seated position or lying down,
Feeling supported by the chair or the cushion or on the surface where you're laying.
And let's just take a few slow deep breaths in,
Exhaling out.
Another slow deep breath in,
Exhaling out through your mouth.
One more long deep breath in,
Exhaling out.
And now letting your breath return to its natural rhythm.
And I want you to bring to mind whatever situation you're struggling with.
Maybe you had an argument with a friend or a partner.
Maybe you're feeling anxious or depressed.
Whatever that difficult feeling is,
I just want you to focus on where you're feeling it in your body.
So bringing to mind that situation,
Whatever it might be,
Those feelings,
Whatever they might be,
And really tuning into your body and notice where you're feeling it.
Maybe it's a tightness in your chest or your throat.
Maybe you're clenching your jaw or maybe it's in your belly.
Wherever you're feeling this or your lower back,
Wherever you're noticing this sensation,
Just tune into that for a moment without judgment,
Just with a curious awareness.
And you can place a hand on that part of your body or both your hands and just breathe into that part of your body where you're feeling these sensations.
And now getting even more curious,
If those sensations in your body had a color or a shape,
What would they be?
If you could create a mental picture of what that feeling looks like.
Just picture that right now.
Being curious about how big or small it is,
How far it extends in your body,
Is it just located in your chest or does it radiate out towards your neck or your back or your shoulders or into your belly?
Just noticing how far,
What the limits of this sensation are.
And imagine that as you're breathing into this part of your body,
That as you breathe in,
The edges of this feeling are softening,
They're blurring.
Or you could even imagine as if it were a glass of water and it's filled to the very top to the point where it's overflowing over the edges.
And just sitting with that image for a while.
And as you breathe out,
The edges soften even more.
And if you lose track of that feeling or emotion,
Or maybe it shifts and you begin to feel something different,
Just starting the process again of getting curious.
Where are you feeling it in your body?
What might it look like,
That feeling?
And noticing as you breathe in and out,
How the edges just soften and blur and flow.
And noticing if it feels different or changes or shifts.
And being kind and compassionate with yourself,
Whether it changes or not.
Just allowing that you're here in this moment,
Feeling these feelings with kindness and compassion.
And when you're ready,
You can move your fingers and your toes,
Stretching your body if you need to,
Opening your eyes if they were closed,
And reorienting yourself to the room where you are in this moment.
And know that anytime if you're feeling distress,
If you're feeling anxious,
If you have feelings that are overwhelming,
You can do this meditation and hopefully give you some relief.
But it also helps just build tolerance for feeling those feelings.
Thanks for joining me today with this meditation.
