Hi,
I'm Alex.
Let's see if we can increase your capacity to be with your emotions.
This following practice includes somatic visualization and embodiment in which we'll paint the landscape of your emotions metaphorically.
To start,
We'll settle the body and the mind.
Please sit comfortably,
Close down your eyes or soften your gaze if that feels okay.
And take a few slower,
Broader breaths.
Perhaps you can see if it feels okay to breathe in and out through the nose.
Alternatively,
You might breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.
Sense the gentle pulsing of the diaphragm as you send the breath further into the low abdomen.
Send your awareness to your feet,
And ground them firmly on the floor below.
Sensing the weight of your body in whichever support you are leaning on.
Now please relax into your natural rhythm of breath.
The next invitation is to scan for sensations in your body.
Sending your awareness from the feet all the way up to your head.
Noticing any tension,
Lightness,
Warmth,
Or heaviness.
Considering where in your body do these feelings reside.
And if you don't feel anything at all,
That's also information.
Now,
Visualize the terrain.
Transform these physical sensations or lack thereof into an outdoor landscape.
You might ask yourself,
Is it an ocean?
A forest.
A desert,
Or a stormy sky.
Alternatively,
You might consider an element.
Water,
Earth,
Fire,
Earth,
Or air.
Is the temperature freezing,
Warm,
Sweltering,
Or somewhere in between?
Is it calm and still or loud and turbulent?
Allowing your mind to ebb and flow as it creates this inner ecology.
Instead of analyzing this,
You can also allow your body to physically embody the landscape.
For example,
If your landscape is a rushing river,
You might allow your body to gently sway.
If it's a heavy stone,
You might allow your shoulders to drop and ground yourself even further.
And if you're unsure,
You can also open yourself to moving intuitively,
Bypassing the mind and sensing how your body wants to move in this moment.
Sensing how your body might be shifting as you continue to paint the landscape of your emotions.
Creating space for the energy to be in motion.
To move through you.
We'll complete this cycle now by breathing into whatever landscape you've chosen.
Considering a supportive element.
Or aspect of nature.
To gently shift the physical sensation.
In your body.
For example,
You might imagine sun melting ice.
Or rain nourishing dry earth.
Noticing these ever-changing internal shifts and the power of your imagination to create these changes within you.
Now please go ahead and deepen your breath here.
Slowly dissolving.
The landscape that you've created in your mind's eye.
Grounding yourself back into the physical space.
Taking note of the sounds in the room.
The quality of the air.
And then observing the impact of this short practice on your capacity to be with your emotions.
Knowing that your ability to do this strengthens with time.
May you take this practice out into your day.
As you witness the landscape of your inner world change as the emotions move through you.
Please go ahead and blink open the eyes,
Taking in the environment.
And I can't wait to practice together again soon.
