This is a short meditation to help when there are strong feelings of anger in you.
If at all possible find somewhere where you won't be disturbed and most importantly away from whatever or whoever is triggering your anger.
Get yourself into a comfortable posture.
Either sitting or lying down and start by bringing kind attention to the physical experience of anger.
Not so much to the thoughts or stories in the mind which are often distorted and magnified.
But rather to the sensations and feelings in your body.
Noticing where in your body you feel anger most strongly.
For example as heat,
Pressure,
Tightness or as prickly sensations.
Recognizing the pain and suffering beneath the anger without which it wouldn't be there.
And then begin taking some deeper,
Slower,
Fuller breaths in through the nose and then after a short pause out through a small hole in the mouth.
And exploring what kind of breath is the most helpful right now in terms of the pace,
The texture,
The length of the pauses.
Not to try to push away any difficult feelings but to help you to be with them,
To approach them with kindness.
With each longer,
Slower in breath,
A sense of taking in what you are needing right now.
Whether that be calmness,
Patience,
Acceptance or understanding.
With each longer,
Slower out breath,
A sense of loosening your grip on what you don't need to be holding right now.
Letting go of tension,
Angry thoughts,
Destructive impulses or revenge fantasies.
Taking in what you need with the in breath,
Letting go of what you don't need with the out breath.
So now either continuing with these longer breaths or letting the breath find its own rhythm again.
And giving particular attention to any parts of the body where there are still difficult or uncomfortable sensations.
Maybe resting a hand where you feel the most strongly.
I'm just imagining the gentle kind breath flowing into and out from those areas,
Soothing them,
Opening up space around them.
Really receiving the support of the breath to help you to be with your anger and pain with compassion and acceptance.
Making it your priority right now to calm down your nervous system by letting go of angry thoughts and by gently tending to painful feelings so that you can regain your perspective and can come back to your center.
And continuing in this way for as long as it feels helpful.
But before you finish,
Perhaps committing to the intention not to speak or act from a place of anger.
But to do so only when you have regained your center and your wise mind.
