This meditation provides you with an opportunity to practice observing and witnessing challenging emotions,
With an attitude of acceptance and non-judgment.
Cultivating this skill creates a space where we can respond rather than react to our emotions,
Which allows the emotional energy to move through our bodies and release.
So taking a moment now to get comfy and settle into a seated meditation position.
You might like to sit on a chair or on a cushion on the floor,
Or if lying down feels better for you today,
Go ahead and get comfy.
And if you're sitting,
Lifting and lengthening your spine,
Shoulders relaxed,
Settling into your seat,
Inviting you to close your eyes,
Or if you prefer,
You can lower your gaze to the floor or just keep your eyes open.
And inviting you now to take three long,
Slow,
Deep breaths in,
Centering yourself for your practice,
Letting go of any tension you're holding in the body with each exhale.
And once you're ready,
Allowing your breath to revert to its natural effortless pace and bringing your awareness into your body now,
Noticing where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you,
Shifting your focus downward,
Bringing awareness to your feet,
Observing any sensations present here,
No matter how subtle they are.
And now I invite you to bring your awareness to any challenging emotions you may be currently experiencing.
This may be difficult emotions arising from concerns about the future,
Or events from earlier today or further in the past,
Or it could be more of a general feeling that's been present with you lately,
Something that just feels really tricky to shake off.
And when I say difficult emotions,
I mean an emotion that poses some challenge or discomfort for you.
See if you can zoom in on the part of your body where you can feel this emotion most strongly.
See if you can locate the feeling physically.
Resisting the urge to judge the feeling or sensation as good or bad,
Instead approach it with open curiosity and mindful observation,
Becoming the witness,
Practicing witness consciousness where you become the calm observer of your thoughts and feelings instead of getting caught up in them.
Falling back behind where you notice it all from.
Noticing where it starts and where it stops.
If you were to draw an outline around it,
What shape would it have?
Is it on the surface of the body,
Or inside,
Or both?
And as you try to focus your awareness on this feeling,
Your mind might get lost in thoughts or stories about what this feeling means,
And this is totally normal.
Every time you notice that you've been distracted and caught up in the mind,
Gently and kindly bring your attention back to the feeling or sensation you are experiencing,
Just observing.
And just seeing if you can feel the feeling to its full extent and stay with it.
And if at any point it gets too much or too difficult to remain non-judgmental,
You can bring your awareness to the sounds that you can hear,
Or to the flow of your breath moving in and out of the body until you're ready to venture into the body again.
And using the sounds in your breath as an anchor.
Noticing any different layers of the sensation.
Is it light or heavy?
Does it have a colour or texture?
Is it moving or still?
Is it prickly or smooth?
And remember,
There's no right or wrong way to feel,
Just noticing what you notice.
And as you observe the sensation,
I invite you to begin breathing into it.
Visualising your breath flowing in and around the feeling.
In this process,
See if you can open around the feeling,
Making room for it to be there,
In whatever way that makes sense to you.
Giving space for the sensation and the feeling to be there.
You don't have to like it or want it or agree with it,
But see if you can allow the feeling to be there,
Just as it is.
Changing or getting rid of the feeling isn't the goal here.
Simply observe it and allow it to exist just as it is in this moment.
Practising acceptance of your experience,
Rather than trying to change it.
In life,
It's common to push away discomfort,
Instinctively trying to avoid challenging emotions.
However,
When we allow ourselves to feel what we don't want to feel,
We welcome an attitude of acceptance.
Accepting emotions just as they are.
Recognising them as a natural part of the human experience.
It's in this practice of acceptance that we can let go.
We can't stop or change emotions,
But we can learn to practise acceptance and non-judgement of them.
Just like we can't stop waves,
But we can learn how to surf.
Continuing now,
Just for a few more moments.
Breathing into the feeling,
Allowing yourself to soften and expand around it.
And now inviting your attention to include the rest of your body.
Noticing your arms,
Your legs,
Your head,
Your neck.
Noticing where your body makes contact with the surface beneath you.
And taking some deep grounding breaths in,
All the way down to the belly.
And letting it go.
And as you move back into your day and your activities after this meditation,
See if you can keep in mind this sense of acceptance and awareness of emotions.
Allowing yourself to feel all emotions,
Without pushing them away.
And equally,
Understand that mastering your emotions takes time and it's not an overnight process.
That's why meditation is called a practice.
The more we practise acceptance,
The stronger our neural pathways become and the easier it gets over time.
And be kind and compassionate with yourself in the unavoidable situations where your emotions might overwhelm you.
And as we come to the end of this meditation,
I invite you to offer yourself some care and compassion for taking this time for yourself.
Perhaps a hand over the heart.
Or offering yourself some comforting words like,
You did the best you could,
Feeling emotions takes time.
Or,
That was a lot to sit with,
I'm proud of you.
Or whatever phrase feels right for you.
And now,
Just starting to reawaken your body with some gentle movement.
Wiggling your fingers and toes.
Stretching your arms and legs up and out.
Moving in any way that feels good for you.
And when you're ready,
Bringing your awareness to your body.
To the sounds that you can hear.
And gently opening your eyes and coming back into your space.
