Hi,
Beautiful people.
Today I'm going to guide you through a somatic practice for working with anger.
Anger can be difficult to know what to do with.
Sometimes it comes out quickly before we've had a chance to choose how we want to respond.
Other times we swallow it or push it down until it builds into something overwhelming.
In this practice,
We're going to slow things down and get curious about what anger actually feels like from the inside.
Rather than immediately expressing or trying to get rid of the energy,
We'll practice noticing the sensations and impulses that arise and giving them some space to unfold.
Over time,
This can help us recognize anger earlier and build more capacity to stay with it,
Giving us more choice in how we respond.
This is an audio-based practice,
So find somewhere you can be comfortable and undisturbed for the next few minutes,
And we'll begin.
Find a comfortable position,
Sitting,
Standing,
Or lying down.
Take a moment to notice where you are.
Let your eyes take in the room.
And feel the surface beneath you supporting your body.
You can keep your eyes open.
Soften your gaze.
Or close them if that feels supportive.
Then begin to notice your body here in this moment.
Notice your breathing.
And the places where your body makes contact with the chair,
Floor,
Or ground.
See if there's somewhere that feels relatively neutral.
Comfortable,
Or simply easy to notice.
It could be the feeling of your feet on the floor.
The weight of your hands.
Or the movement of your breath.
Let yourself get familiar with that place.
You can return your attention there at any point during this practice.
Now,
Bring to mind something that irritates you or makes you angry.
Choose something manageable.
Enough that you can feel a little activation in your body without choosing the most overwhelming experience you can think of.
It might be a recent interaction where someone interrupted you,
Crossed a boundary.
Didn't listen.
Or treated you unfairly.
Maybe you said yes when you really wanted to say no.
Or there may already be some irritation or anger here today,
And you don't need to bring anything else to mind.
As you think about it,
Notice if your mind starts analyzing what happened or deciding whether you should be angry.
See if you can leave the story in the background for a moment.
And instead ask yourself,
How do I know I'm angry in my body?
Notice where you feel it.
You might become aware of warmth or pressure somewhere.
Maybe your jaw tightens,
Your breathing changes.
Or you feel energy gathering through your chest,
Belly,
Arms,
Or hands.
You might notice an impulse to move towards something.
Or pull away from it.
There's no particular sensation you're supposed to find.
We're just becoming curious about how anger shows up in your body.
Choose one sensation that feels interesting or accessible.
And bring a little more attention to it.
Where exactly do you feel it?
Notice its shape.
And its edges if it has them.
Does it seem close to the surface of your body or deeper inside?
Is it concentrated in one place or spread across a larger area?
You might notice temperature.
Texture density.
Movement.
Or something that's harder to put into words.
You don't need to describe it perfectly.
Just stay curious.
For these next few moments.
See what it's like to witness the sensation without deliberately trying to change it.
Let your breathing happen naturally.
Let the sensation take up the amount of space it takes up.
Notice what happens over time.
The sensation might become stronger.
Or softer.
It might spread,
Contract,
Move somewhere else,
Change temperature,
Or stay more or less the same.
Whatever is happening,
See if you can keep noticing.
If at any point you begin to feel overwhelmed or you notice yourself getting pulled deeply into the story,
Allow your attention to move away from the sensation.
Look around the room again.
Feel your feet or the support beneath you.
Find something ordinary or neutral to rest your attention on.
You can return to the anger when and if you want to.
Part of building capacity is learning how to stay in relationship with an experience while also recognizing when you need more space from it.
If the sensation still feels workable.
Become curious about whether there's any movement within it.
Anger often carries quite a bit of energy.
And that energy may shift when we give it our attention.
You may notice warmth spreading through your chest.
Energy moving down your arms.
Pressure,
Building and releasing.
Or a subtle trembling somewhere in the body.
There may also be an impulse toward movement.
If you notice one,
See if you can become curious about the impulse itself.
Before deciding whether to act on it.
Maybe your hands want to push.
Your body wants to turn away.
Your jaw tightens.
You feel words forming before you say them.
What does wanting to push feel like before you push?
What does wanting to say no feel like?
Before the word leaves your mouth.
See how much of that experience you can notice internally.
There might be a surprising amount happening in the body,
Even when you're completely still.
Notice whether the energy has any kind of rhythm.
Does it build and then recede?
Does it come in waves?
Does it gather somewhere and then move?
You don't need to know where it's going.
Follow what you notice.
Now begin to include more of your body in your awareness.
Keep some attention on the anger while noticing what else is here.
If you've been focused on your chest,
Feel your legs as well.
If most of the sensation has been in your hands.
Notice your back against the chair.
If you feel heat in your face.
Reconnect with your feet on the ground.
See if your awareness can widen enough.
To hold the activated parts of your body alongside the places that feel quieter or more supported.
Imagine making a little more room around the experience.
The anger can take up space without needing to become the whole of your experience.
This is one way we can think about expanding our capacity.
Over time,
We can become more able to notice activation as it moves through us.
We have a little more room to feel what's happening before we automatically suppress it.
Escape it.
Or act from it.
See what it's like to feel this energy while staying connected to the rest of yourself.
Now let go of tracking the sensation quite so closely.
Allow your attention to soften and notice what your body does next.
You might notice a deeper breath or a swallow.
Some warmth or tingling.
A small movement,
Or the desire to stretch.
Maybe you feel some settling.
Maybe the anger is still very present.
Or maybe another feeling has begun to appear alongside it.
Sadness,
Strength,
Clarity.
Relief.
Or something else.
There doesn't need to be a particular ending to this practice.
We're simply noticing what happens when a bodily state is given some time and attention.
Sometimes sensations change quickly.
Sometimes they move slowly.
And sometimes the shift is subtle enough that we only notice it.
When we stop waiting for something dramatic to happen.
Take a moment now to notice your whole body.
Let your attention move slowly from your feet and legs up through your pelvis and torso.
Your arms and hands,
Your neck and face.
Notice your breathing.
Then begin to notice the room again.
Take in the sounds around you,
The light,
The space.
And the surface beneath you.
And you might ask yourself quietly.
What is my anger telling me?
You don't have to figure out what to do about it right now.
Just notice whether the anger seems to be communicating something.
An answer may come or it may not.
Anger is part of our capacity to respond to the world.
It can let us know that something matters to us.
That something feels wrong.
That a boundary was crossed.
Or that we want something to change.
As we become more familiar with anger in the body.
We may also become more able to stay connected to ourselves while that energy is here.
To feel it.
Listen to it.
And give ourselves some time before deciding what comes next.
Take one more moment to notice how you feel now compared with when you began.
When you're ready.
Allow your attention to return fully to the space around you.
I hope you found this practice helpful.
Thank you so much for practicing with me.
