So,
Allowing yourself to settle in to a comfortable posture,
Sitting,
Standing,
Or lying.
Becoming present mindfully and allowing the breath to flow unhindered in and out.
The soothing breathing rhythm.
Letting the mind be like a bright,
Clear mirror.
Reflecting whatever shows itself.
And allowing the soothing breathing rhythm to be like an anchor.
Something to return to at any point.
So allowing the breath to flow freely in and out.
Imagining how every pore in the body opens,
Receiving as the air flows in.
The body allowing itself to be filled and then giving it all away.
Every breath a welcoming and an offering.
Every breath an effortless exchange with the environment.
And any time you notice the energy of the threat system or drive system,
Resisting or striving.
You can allow mindful presence and a soothing breathing rhythm to return.
Now I invite you to choose an area of suffering in your life to work with for this exercise.
Let it be an area that you feel you have the space to work with right now.
Can be physical or emotional.
So the invitation is to gently allow the imagination to play with this.
So what if the suffering was made tangible,
Was occupying space somehow and even situated in front of you?
What might it look like?
What color?
What shape?
What other qualities does it have?
How does it feel to touch?
To smell?
Is there any sound?
Allowing the imagination to surprise you.
And then an invitation to do something which in the beginning may feel counterintuitive or strange.
So imagining breathing in and welcoming this pain,
Allowing it to transform itself inside you into a softening healing quality which you then breathe out.
Letting the imagination do the work.
No need to try hard.
So for example,
If you breathe in darkness,
You might breathe out brightness.
If you breathe in black smoke,
Perhaps a white or golden light.
If it's a color you're breathing in,
Maybe breathe out the complementary color.
So breathing in red and breathing out green.
Breathing in muddiness and breathing out clarity.
Heaviness,
Coarseness,
Harshness in,
Lightness,
Smoothness or softness out.
Inhaling heat,
Exhaling coolness.
Perhaps you breathe in frost and exhale thaw.
And breathing in stench and exhaling fragrance.
Inhaling chaos and exhaling peace.
And breathing in tiredness and exhaling vitality.
You could also inhale just a dark emotional atmosphere of anxiety,
Anger,
Grief.
And you could exhale a light emotional atmosphere of comfort,
Peace,
Joy.
And if at any point you lose that soothing breathing rhythm,
Just noticing whatever is present,
You might be trying to ward off the unpleasant.
And you may notice the energy of the threat system.
We may be striving for results and notice the energy of the drive system.
Whatever it is,
Acknowledging your experience,
Gently,
And allowing the calming breath to return,
Inviting the breath.
And when the calming breath is returned,
Moving on with the imagery practice.
Thank you.
And if you notice a lot of resistance,
You could either choose something that's less painful or you could practice with the resistance itself.
If you choose to practice with the resistance itself,
You might experiment with visualizing the resistance in front of you.
Imagining its qualities,
Which you breathe in,
Changing into softening qualities,
Which you breathe out.
And you can explore expanding this compassionate breathing by adding mindful movements.
So stretching out the arms and hands towards the pain in front of you and moving the hands in a receiving gesture with the in breath towards your heart and extending the hands and arms in a giving gesture with each out breath.
Moving with the breath as you imagine breathing in what hurts,
Breathing out what heals.
And you can explore doing this practice with movements,
Without,
And alternating throughout the practice.
Becoming aware of the effects of this practice,
Whether pleasant or unpleasant.
Noticing your reactivity.
How does this exercise affect you?
Knowing that there's no wrong experiences.
And you have the freedom to adapt the practice to your needs.
Returning at any time to just mindfulness and the breath with movements,
Without,
And even choosing a different suffering.
Now if you feel the space,
And if you feel the space now,
You could explore another difficulty in a similar way,
Continuing the practice or returning to the breath.
Congratulations.
Now it could be very kind to end this practice with a deep,
Deep appreciation of yourself.
