If you're listening to this right now,
Emotions might be feeling especially intense.
Perhaps you feel so overwhelmed you just don't know what to do with yourself.
This practice will help you make space for difficult emotions because often it's the struggle with the feelings that can amplify them and when we soften that struggle even a little things can start to feel a bit more manageable.
Home.
Let's begin with a slow breath in.
Hold it.
And a slow breath out.
And another,
Breathing in Hold it.
And breathing out.
Now gently bring your attention to your body.
Notice the places where your body is being supported right now.
The chair beneath you.
Or whatever surface is holding you.
Just noticing that sense of contact.
That sense of support.
And now gently turning your attention towards whatever feeling brought you here.
Just noticing what is present right now.
Perhaps it's anxiety.
Maybe sadness.
Perhaps overwhelm or frustration.
Whatever it is that's showing up,
See if you can simply acknowledge it.
And notice where you feel it most strongly in your body.
Perhaps in your chest.
Your stomach.
Shoulders.
Wherever it shows up for you,
Just noticing.
And sometimes what makes emotions feel so overwhelming isn't just the emotion itself,
It's the fear that the emotion brings.
The fear that it will become too much.
Or that you won't be able to cope if you let yourself feel it fully.
And if that's true for you right now,
See if you can meet that fear with kindness.
No need to push this emotion away.
We're simply practicing staying present with what's already here.
And as you notice what's happening inside you,
You might also become aware of the struggle.
That pull to make the feeling better.
To get rid of it somehow.
Recognize that that's completely understandable.
When emotions feel intense,
Most of us instinctively try to move away from them.
But for the next few breaths,
See if you can gently let go of that struggle.
Just for a moment.
Allowing the feeling to be here.
Exactly as it is.
Take a long,
Slow breath in.
Hold it.
And a longer,
Slower breath out.
Making room for the feeling.
Expanding around it.
Giving it some space.
And noticing that although this feeling is here,
It isn't the only thing here.
There is also your breath.
The chair beneath you.
The room you are sitting in.
The feeling is part of your experience right now.
But it doesn't have to become all of your experience.
Take another slow breath in.
Hold it.
And gently breathe out.
And as we come towards the end of this practice Remember you are more than this feeling.
For the last few minutes,
You've practiced something different.
Instead of fighting the feeling,
You made space for it.
And that is a skill.
One you can come back to whenever emotions feel especially intense.
So take one final slow breath in.
Hold it.
And a long breath out.
And when you're ready,
Gently bring your attention back to the room around you.
You may not choose your feelings.
But you can choose how you respond to them.
So come back to this practice whenever you need that reminder.
