Welcome to this Feeling Our Feelings practice.
I find this practice particularly helpful when I'm overwhelmed with a strong feeling or emotion,
When my head's very busy with thoughts,
And when I really need a way to settle my mind and perhaps understand what's going on for me.
I often find I come out of this practice feeling much calmer,
Clearer,
More resilient.
So do approach this practice with an open mind and kindness to yourself and a sense of curiosity,
Just allowing whatever comes up to come up.
And when you're ready,
Just finding a comfortable position,
Ideally back upright,
But not too rigid,
And just really settling in to the seat beneath you.
And when you're ready,
Gently closing down the eyes and taking a moment to really sense into the chair,
The surface beneath you,
Where you're resting,
And really connecting into your body on this chair in this moment.
How does it feel to be here in this body in this moment?
Really rooting down,
Sensing into that feeling of body on chair,
Allowing yourself to be really held and supported from below,
Allowing the energy of the earth beneath you to really hold you and sustain you in this moment.
Moving your awareness now down to the feet,
Perhaps they're resting on the ground beneath you,
Wherever they are,
Just noticing the connection between the feet and the surface beneath them,
Really sensing into that earth energy from beneath the feet,
Allowing it to really hold you in this moment,
Supporting you,
Anchoring you here.
So really sensing into that connection of feet and body,
Rooted into the ground,
Into the earth energy in this moment.
And now bringing your awareness to your mind and just taking a moment to check in with how it's feeling,
What's the temperature of the mind right now?
Is it very busy with thoughts,
Planning,
Thinking of what's next,
Or perhaps it's thinking back to something that happened in the past.
So just noticing how the mind is right now,
No right,
No wrong,
Just being curious and bringing a really spacious awareness to whatever's coming up for you in the mind,
Being aware of your thoughts,
Being aware of what's here for you.
And now with a real sense of curiosity and gentleness,
Seeing if you can see what's being felt in your body most strongly in this moment.
Is there a feeling,
An emotion that's drawing your attention?
Perhaps it's hard to name or articulate the feeling,
But perhaps you can sense into a feeling of energy in the body,
A place of intense feeling,
Heat,
Tension,
Pain even.
So really seeing if you can sense into this place where you're feeling things most strongly in the body and allow it to be felt in all its intensity,
Bringing awareness to the feeling with real gentleness and a curiosity.
What does this energy feel like in the body?
How is this emotion expressing itself for you right now?
And where can you feel the energy most strongly?
Perhaps in the head,
Throat,
Chest,
Or even the belly and shoulders.
And when you find this place of intensity,
Of tension,
Just really allowing it to be expressed and felt,
Perhaps noticing that as you bring awareness to this place of tension,
Strong feeling,
It's felt even stronger,
It's amplified.
So just holding it gently in your mind,
Allowing the feeling to be felt.
And by feeling our feelings in this way,
We allow the energy of these feelings to be released and to pass on.
And by doing so,
We'll experience a real sense of lightness,
Of wholeness,
Of acceptance of all that we're feeling.
So just allowing yourself to really feel what you're feeling.
If it helps,
Perhaps seeing if you can name the feeling now,
Maybe it's sadness,
Anxiety,
Resistance,
Anger,
Overwhelm,
Or maybe there's just a sense of numbness.
There's no right and no wrong,
But just seeing if you can take a moment to name what you're feeling,
Saying to yourself in your mind,
I'm feeling whatever that might be for you.
And as you name that feeling,
Bringing a real sense of acceptance that this feeling is a part of you.
It's a part of being human.
So really allowing it to be felt and to be expressed,
Really holding it in your awareness with gentleness.
And if it's difficult feeling these feelings,
If there's still a lot of tension being expressed in your body,
Just taking one hand onto your belly and really sensing into the natural rise and fall of the breath in your belly,
Moving against your hand now and allowing your hand to really bring a sense of acceptance to this feeling that you've been feeling.
Just holding yourself and supporting yourself in this moment,
Just sensing into the natural rise and fall of the breath against your belly,
Against your hand,
Effortlessly moving,
Rising and falling,
Bringing a real sense of ease and calm into the body as the feeling that you felt is released,
Leaving you with a real sense of lightness and ease and self-acceptance.
So as we come towards the end of this practice,
Just taking one more moment to sense into the breath moving in the belly and the hand holding and supporting you here in this moment,
And taking a moment to sense into how you're feeling,
Noticing anything that's changed since you started the practice,
And gathering up any benefits.
And in your own time,
Gently moving your hand back down to your lap,
Bringing awareness into the toes,
Wiggling the toes,
Bringing awareness into the hands and wiggling the fingers.
And when you feel ready,
Gently opening the eyes and coming back.
Thank you so much for taking the time to meditate with me today.
I hope to see you again soon.
