Creating Space for Difficult Emotions Welcome to this meditation.
We all experience difficult emotions,
Sadness,
Anger,
Fear or frustration.
Often,
We resist these feelings,
Hoping to push them away or make them disappear.
But this resistance can leave us feeling stuck.
In this practice,
We'll explore how to create space around difficult emotions,
Allowing them to exist without judgement and softening into acceptance.
So find a comfortable position where your body feels supported.
Close your eyes and bring your attention inward.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and feel that travel down into the lungs,
Expanding the ribs,
Even into the belly,
And then exhale softly through your nose,
Allowing your body to relax into the surface beneath you.
Feel the natural rhythm of the breath.
And when you inhale,
Imagine you're creating space within yourself,
The body expanding.
And with each exhale,
Release any tension or resistance.
Say to yourself in your mind,
I breathe in openness.
I breathe out,
Release.
So do this a few times,
I breathe in openness,
Opening up the body,
I breathe out,
Release.
Now,
Bring your mind to a challenging emotion that you've been feeling.
It might be a sense of heaviness or tightness in the chest,
Or a persistent thought,
A worry that just keeps circling.
Allow yourself to notice it gently,
Without judgement or the need to fix it.
Where do you feel this emotion in your body?
Where does it present itself?
What does it feel like?
Is it heavy,
Tight or restless?
Simply observe it,
As though you're just a curious witness.
And we're now going to create space around this emotion.
So imagine this feeling is like a small shape or an object within you.
And now with each breath,
Picture the space around it growing larger.
So the emotion remains,
But it has more room to exist.
It's not all encompassing.
It's not pressing tightly against you.
There's lots of space.
And say to yourself,
I make space for this emotion,
It is allowed to be here.
Notice how this act of expanding creates a sense of lightness.
You don't need to push the emotion away,
You're simply giving it room to breathe.
Perhaps noticing that there's a lot more of you than that.
And now say to the emotion,
I see you,
I hear you,
You are a part of me,
And that's okay.
Notice what shifts,
As you allow this feeling to be here,
Without resistance or judgement.
Remember,
Acceptance doesn't mean you agree with that emotion,
Or that it will stay forever.
It simply means you're willing to let it be.
Difficult emotions are like waves in the ocean.
They rise,
Peak,
And eventually fade away.
By creating space,
And softening into acceptance,
You allow yourself to flow with the waves,
Rather than fight against them.
You are not your emotions.
You are the steady,
Grounded presence that holds them with compassion.
So we'll close this now,
With a deep breath in,
And a long,
Steady exhale.
And connect,
Feel that space you've created within yourself.
Notice the softness of your body,
And how alive it feels,
And how it can exist even with this difficulty present.
