This is the meditation for dealing with anger,
So finding an appropriate position in which to sit or lie,
But choosing a posture that expresses your willingness to stay present and open.
Finding yourself comfortable and allowing the body to settle as best you can.
And starting by taking a few deeper breaths.
In your own time,
Following the in-breath all the way in and then all the way out.
Finding how the out-breath can bring a sense of softening,
Of release,
Of letting go.
So after you've taken a few deeper breaths,
Just allowing your breath to return to normal so that the breath is breathing by itself.
If at any time during the practice the feelings get very strong and threaten to overwhelm you,
You can always come back to these deeper breaths as a way to help you to stay present with those feelings.
So as we start the meditation,
Respectfully acknowledging the feelings of anger and hurt that may be here right now,
But for the time being bringing a particular awareness to the parts of the body that are in contact with the floor,
Chair or cushion,
Whatever you are sitting on or lying on,
And really feeling into the ground beneath you.
The ground that is supporting you.
The ground that is helping you to hold these difficult feelings.
Feeling or sitting here,
Breathing and fully allowing yourself to be held and supported by the earth below.
So now whilst keeping a portion of your awareness on the breath and your connection with the ground,
Including in your awareness the angry feelings and sensations occurring in your body right now.
Becoming aware of the experience of anger and how it is manifesting in the body right now at the level of sensation.
So beginning with a broad sweep,
Noticing the different places in the body where the strongest sensations are concentrated,
But paying particular attention to the sensations in the torso,
In the throat,
The chest and the abdomen area.
Unjudgmental awareness,
Exploring the experience of anger.
There could be sensations of tightness,
Of pressure,
Of heat,
Of burning.
There could be fluttering,
Swirling,
Tingling or prickly feelings.
Doing a survey of whatever feelings are there and where they are located.
Whenever you notice that you've become distracted by thoughts,
Recognising that these thoughts are taking you out of your body,
Out of contact with your feelings,
And then returning to an awareness of your actual bodily experience.
So exploring the experience of anger,
Not fighting it or pushing it away,
But exploring how it is manifesting in terms of the range of different feelings and sensations in the body.
And noticing how the experience of anger necessarily includes feelings that are unpleasant,
Uncomfortable.
Areas which may feel weak,
Painful,
Vulnerable.
Noticing that to the extent that we are angry,
We are suffering in some way.
So including these hurt feelings in your awareness too.
Again without trying to push them away or change them,
But just breathing with them in a respectful and patient way.
To support you with this you may want to place your hands on one or more of the parts of your body where these feelings are located.
Feeling the gentleness and warmth of that touch.
Feeling unpleasant and uncomfortable feelings in the body and breathing with them.
So perhaps returning your hands to where they were.
And noticing too that anger can also include a sense of energy,
Of aliveness.
Either in specific parts of the body,
Like the hands,
The muscles or the solar plexus,
Or a general sense of underlying strength,
Power or energy in the whole body.
So really exploring these sensations too.
Feeling those areas of the body where there is the most strength.
And letting go of thoughts whenever you notice them,
So that you can come back to the sensations manifesting in your body on a moment by moment basis.
Specifically to these feelings of vitality and strength.
Feeling the power and energy of anger.
So beginning to expand your awareness now to include the rest of the body,
The whole body from head to toe.
And seeing if it's possible to tune into a sense of vitality,
Of aliveness,
In the whole body.
Almost as if you're inviting these areas of concentrated strength to diffuse their energy into the whole body.
If it feels helpful then maybe as you breathe in a sense of getting in touch with this vitality.
And as you breathe out,
The vitality spreading around your whole body.
Extending your awareness to include the whole body,
The whole body back and front from the top of your head,
Right the way down to the tips of your fingers and the ends of your toes.
And if there are still areas of the body where you're in touch with uncomfortable feelings,
Perhaps exploring if there can be a sense of this strength helping you to hold these areas,
Helping you to look after them,
To take care of them.
Using your strength to look after your vulnerability.
So as we come to the end of the practice,
Recognizing that the power of anger can be destructive,
But it can also be directed so that it becomes useful and supportive.
You might want to channel,
To dedicate this sense of strength and vitality towards helping you to stay centered and resilient in the kinds of situations where you get triggered and which you may shortly be returning to.
Or you can dedicate it to expressing yourself assertively but kindly in situations where this is what is needed.
Or perhaps even using this energy to give you the strength needed to make the first steps towards reconciliation with someone.
So whichever of these you choose,
If it's helpful for you to do so,
You can visualize yourself acting and speaking with integrity in one of these typical situations so as to create the pathways for this to happen.
And so as we finish,
Just tuning in and deciding what might be best for you right now.
Whether you need to spend some more time being with your feelings in this way,
Whether taking a few deeper breaths would be helpful,
Or whether you are ready to move on with the rest of your day.
And if and when anger shows up again in your day,
Seeing if it is possible to pause,
To let go of the thoughts and the storyline that is there,
And to come back instead to this sense of connection with your whole body.
Looking after the parts of you that feel weak or hurt,
And using the energy of anger to strengthen your resilience and centeredness in the face of the triggers that usually provoke it.
