Embracing Emotions

In our everyday lives, we often react impulsively to our uncomfortable emotions, or we try to avoid, suppress, or ignore them, leading to increased stress and actions we might later regret or that may not serve our best interests.

Today we take time to deepen our awareness of our emotional landscape, cultivating a compassionate and non-judgmental relationship with our emotions. This meditation invites you to turn toward your emotions with courage, curiosity, and compassion. By doing so, you foster a deeper understanding of yourself and cultivate emotional resilience.

"You are the sky. Everything else—it's just the weather" - Pema Chödrön

Transcript

Welcome to your guided meditation practice.

Take a comfortable seated position.

Rest your hands wherever they naturally fold.

Gently close your eyes or soften your gaze.

Together,

Let's take three deep,

Slow breaths to establish ourselves in the here and now.

Deep breath in.

Feel your belly,

Your lungs.

And slow breath out.

Releasing.

Relaxing.

Deep.

And slow.

Feel the sensations of your exhalation.

Deep.

Slow.

Now take a moment to enjoy the natural smooth flow of your breath.

With each inhale,

Invite more presence into your being.

And with each exhale,

Release any resistance you may have.

Inhale presence.

Exhale resistance.

Imagine you have a pen and paper and you are taking a note of physical sensations in your body.

Vibrating,

Tingling,

Pulsing,

Itching,

Coolness,

Warmth,

Any sensation.

Feel the aliveness in your body in this moment.

Notice if there is any area of discomfort or tension,

Pain.

Pause and gently invite it to relax.

Breathe into those areas of the body where you hold tension.

Infuse them with breath.

Imagine any tension melting away with each exhale.

Feel your body relaxing with each breath.

Now ask yourself,

How am I feeling?

Can you name emotions?

As you were previously noticing sensations in your body,

Take the same mindful approach to notice your emotions.

What do you feel?

Is it happiness,

Sadness,

Calmness?

Let it bubble up to the surface into your awareness.

Emotions are just different energies.

Let them pass through you.

We have tendency to react to them,

Try to get rid of them or run away from them,

But now we are learning to experience them.

If you are experiencing a strong emotion,

Your heart starts to tighten.

Breathe consciously through the sensations.

Relax your heart.

Soften toward that emotion.

Notice how it feels in your body,

Where you feel it.

And what are the physical sensations that this emotion has.

Pema Chodron says you are the sky,

Everything else is just the weather.

Emotions are temporary like the weather.

They come and go.

Whatever emotion is arising in the moment,

Allow it to be.

Observe it with curiosity and compassion.

Gently bring your attention back to your breath.

Take a deep breath in and slow breath out.

When we give a chance to our emotions to be seen,

Felt and heard,

When we allow them to express they begin to unravel and let go.

Whenever you feel a strong emotion in daily life,

Recognize it,

Feel it in your body.

Notice what sensations it has and say hello to it.