Kiora and welcome.
My name is Tanisha and I'm an art psychotherapist and counsellor.
And today we're going to be thinking about self-acceptance using a submodality meditation.
Submodality exercises are a way for us to visualise and understand our emotions.
Sometimes we can get caught up in the discomfort of emotions that we can occasionally forget to give them some space and give them some room.
Each emotional experience is different and submodality allows us to honour that difference,
To make space for it,
To welcome it and to allow it to speak to us.
So I want you to get into a position that feels comfortable for you and we'll begin.
Start by taking three long deep breaths.
Breathing in to the belly and out through the mouth.
And in.
And out.
And in.
And out.
And in.
And out.
And in.
And out.
You're welcome to close your eyes or have a soft gaze.
Just quickly checking in,
Notice how you are feeling today.
Where are you feeling?
Where in your body do you hold the most sensation,
The most tension?
It might be that typically you hold the tension and sensation,
The feelings in a particular area and it could be placed there today or it could be somewhere different,
Somewhere unexpected.
Once you've located where the feelings are placed,
Notice where the feelings are most prominent.
How much space or little space does this feeling take up in that part of the body?
Now allow that feeling to really start to reveal itself to you.
Notice the sensation of it in your body.
Is there a tightness?
Any pain?
Perhaps there's multiple sensations.
If you were to give this feeling a color or multiple colors,
What feels most appropriate for this feeling right now in this moment?
What is the intensity of the color?
What is the shape of this feeling?
If it were to form a shape of its own,
What would it look like?
As you're starting to really notice this feeling and give it space,
Is it moving or is it stagnant?
Is it changing?
How is the texture of this feeling?
Perhaps it's smooth,
Rough,
Soft,
Hard?
As you continue making space for this feeling,
Allowing itself to really show itself to you,
Is it changing at all?
If so,
That's it.
Imagine taking this feeling from within that place in the body and gently moving it from within the body to just out in front of you,
Almost as if your hand is reaching in and just slowly pulling and guiding this feeling out in front of you.
You have some level of control here.
With it in front of you,
It can take up more space if needed,
Or perhaps it doesn't need this and it wants to stay as it is.
Perhaps it needs to change a little more in its colour,
In its texture or shape.
Allow it.
Seeing and holding this feeling in front of you,
Ask it,
What is it here for?
What does it want you to know or to be aware of?
It could even be an intuitive feeling or even a whisper.
What would it like to say?
Allow it to speak without restriction or restraint.
We are simply here to watch and to listen.
Whatever is said or seen here in this moment,
My question to you is can you sit with that?
Whatever is felt and said,
Respond to this feeling by saying thank you.
Thank you for telling me that.
Thank you for letting me know.
Thank you for sharing that with me.
Now take a deep breath into the belly and a slow,
Controlled breath out through the mouth,
Letting out a deep sigh.
And again in through the nose and out through the mouth with a sigh.
Say a final thanks again for this feeling for showing itself to us as we start to transition out of this state of meditation.
Just give a thanks to yourself also for making room for this today.
Notice how your body is feeling after making space.
Does it feel different to how it was before you started this meditation?
Has the intensity of any feelings or sensations changed?
Notice if your body needs to move or needs to stretch.
Notice the feeling of contact that your body has with the floor,
With the chair or even if you're laying down.
Just bringing awareness to anything you can hear and smell.
And when you're ready,
Open your eyes and return back to your surroundings.
So just notice how that felt for you today.
Were you able to create a visual or even hear what the feeling was saying to you?
Were you able to locate where it was sitting within the body?
Notice if anything expected or unexpected came up for you.
And if you need to make more space for these feelings,
Feel free to journal and give a little extra room to this today.
Thank you for joining me in this meditation.
Follow me on Insightimer for more mental health skills and take care.
See you next time.
