Today we are going to explore mindfulness of emotions.
I invite you to move your body into a comfortable position.
This could be sitting with your spine tall and straight.
If that isn't comfortable or available to you,
You can lie down or stand.
You want your body to be comfortable yet attentive.
Take a moment to shift your body and make yourself more comfortable.
You may roll your neck or shoulders,
Reposition your hands and feet.
Whatever it takes to bring your body and mind more into this time and place.
Take a few deep breaths and listen to your exhalations as your body calms.
Now just breathe naturally.
Can you notice where in your body you most feel your breath?
It may be at your nostrils as you feel the cool air on the inhalation and the warmer breath as you exhale.
You may feel your ribs and chest expand and contract.
Or you may feel your belly rise and fall.
Just notice your breath in your body.
Our gentle awareness of our breath is our anchor or home base.
If we get distracted or overwhelmed or if something feels too intense,
We can always return to the safety of our breath or another comfortable place in our body.
Such as our hands,
Feet or forehead.
Let your body be soft and resting in this gentle awareness.
Let your mind be soft and at rest.
Thoughts may arise,
It's what they do.
We can watch them float away as gentle as a bubble.
No need to judge them or ourselves.
They just come and go as we rest in awareness.
Let your heart be soft and open.
Just as your thoughts arise,
You will find that emotions also call for your attention.
This is a natural part of our mind as well.
And we can bring a mindful curiosity to the emotions that arise.
Can you name the emotions?
Is it a positive one like joy or peace or confidence?
Maybe it's neutral,
Detached or bored.
Maybe it's heavier or negative like sadness,
Fear,
Self-criticism.
Consider where in the body you can feel the emotion.
What are the bodily sensations that come with it?
There may be a story that's connected to the emotions.
Just notice them and let them rest in your gentle awareness.
See if you can hold them in your loving awareness as gentle as a mother rocks a discomforted child.
You might use words like yes,
This too,
This will pass,
I hear you.
Be curious.
How does the emotion respond?
Does it get stronger or fade?
Does it change to another emotion?
Just notice and allow whatever happens.
Just as our breath arises and falls in our bodies,
Our emotions arise as well,
Like a wave that swells and recedes back into the ocean of our awareness.
We can witness our emotions the same way we observe our breath or thoughts without getting entangled in their sticky stories.
Consider returning your attention to your breath.
Let your attention return to your body and the sounds in your environment.
I invite you to sit quietly for a moment and reflect on your experience.
