This is a meditation for when fear is experienced in the body,
Or you could replace fear with any emotion that is unwanted,
Considered negative,
Getting in the way,
Whatever feels like something that you want to spend some more time with.
So take a comfortable seat and find a place where your spine feels balanced.
You may consider rocking your torso forwards and backwards,
Side to side,
In order to find a place of balance where the spine is straight but not rigid,
Just upright enough to stay present.
Then begin to turn your awareness to the place where the breath and the body meet,
Noticing the physical sensations of breathing and just placing your awareness squarely there,
Whether that is in the belly with the rise and fall of the belly,
In the chest with the rise and fall of the chest,
Or possibly in the nostrils,
The tips of the edges of the nostrils.
Notice the flow of the inhale,
Move in and out.
Let's give ourselves some time to simply come to the present moment with being with completely with the breath.
When your awareness drifts towards thoughts,
Images,
Outside distractions,
Or potentially even the very emotions that drew you here today,
Simply notice that.
You can mark it with a gentle word in the mind,
Thinking,
Distraction,
Feeling,
And then just gently come back to the place where the breath and the body meet,
Wherever that is for you.
Continuing to observe the breath,
Expand your awareness to include the physical sensations of sitting.
Notice where your body is making contact with the seat.
Perhaps if you're in a chair,
You would notice your feet on the ground,
The sensation of your seat on your thighs and buttocks,
Maybe your low back.
If you're on the ground as I am,
Notice the sensation of connection from the feet all the way up through the upper thighs and buttocks on the ground,
Sensations of pressure,
Perhaps tingling.
Notice the sensation of a balanced spine.
And whatever other physical sensations are present,
Perhaps some tingling in various places,
Some tightness and contraction in parts of the body.
Let's keep your awareness open to the physical experience grounding here into the body,
Even as you track your breath,
Your inhale and your exhale.
When you notice your mind wandering to anything other than the physical sensation in the body or the breath,
Just gently notice.
You can mark it if you want with a gentle word and come back,
Possibly coming back just to the breath and then expanding once again to the physical sensation.
Holding this container of the physical body,
Invite in the thought,
I am here now in this body.
I am here now in this body.
Allowing this thought to continue to move through you,
Grounding you into the reality of who you are now in this moment,
In this physical body,
Grounding into the self that has the capacity to hold the emotion that you've come to be with.
This body that has the capacity to be with the fear,
I am here now in this body.
I am here now now in this body.
Rooting in your physical body,
Recognizing capacity and ground that you have,
Now would be the time to turn your awareness to this fear,
To the fear present in the body.
Turn to it as gently as you need to.
You can continue to return to this as you decide to turn to it more and more over time.
As you turn to it,
Notice what happens in your body.
Notice the sensations that shift.
Notice what feels like too much.
And if you need to remind yourself,
You can come back to the thought,
I am here now in this body.
Turning toward the fear,
Notice what's arising.
Some things you can track include how old does this fear feel?
How old does this fear make you feel?
What is this fear asking for?
What does it need?
And if you need,
Remember,
You can always return.
I am here now in this body.
If you find yourself up against something that's too much,
You can always return to being with the physical sensations of the body,
The sensations of sitting,
Including the sensations of breathing,
The place where the body and the breath meet.
And then once again,
Turn towards the fear,
Simply being with it,
Noticing its impact,
Noticing what it may be asking of you,
But not trying to change it.
If you want to stay in this place longer,
Feel free to gently open your eyes and press pause on this recording and return to the recording when you are ready to begin to finish the meditation.
Otherwise,
Now would be the time to offer maybe a slight bow to the fear,
A bow of humility and gratitude of recognition.
You can ask it if you choose to stay in the background until you're ready to visit it again,
Promising it to,
That you will give it its due to speak to you and asking for it to give you the space you need to move through the rest of your day.
Then releasing your attention from the fear,
Come back to the sensations of sitting,
The physical body.
Remind yourself with the thought,
I am here now in this body,
Returning to the sensation of the breath,
The place where the body and the breath meet,
Letting go of the focus on the sensations of sitting,
Just being with your breath,
Gently inviting in a deeper breath,
A big exhale,
Doing that a couple more times to close.
You may choose to bring some movement to fingers and toes,
Maybe stretch your body,
And then if you're ready,
Open your eyes as this meditation concludes.
