Hi,
This is Ori Krug,
Board-certified dance movement therapist and trauma and relationship expert.
Today,
I would love to guide you through a movement-based meditation on staying empowered through expressing anger instead of crumbling in fear.
This meditation is for you if you find that instead of asserting your needs or speaking up for yourself when you feel frustrated or angry in relationships,
You either freeze or stay quiet or you abandon your own needs due to fear.
To begin this meditation,
Find a comfortable position that feels good enough for you right now,
Whether that's sitting down,
Laying down,
Or standing up.
Once you settle into this position,
You may close your eyes or lower your gaze,
Or you can keep them open.
And we're going to take three deep breaths together.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Again,
Breathing in and breathing out.
One last time,
Breathing in and breathing out.
I'd like to invite you now to think about,
Imagine,
Or visualize a situation where you attempted to express anger in an empowered way,
But instead you froze or you abandoned your own needs due to fear,
And therefore you did not speak up for what you needed.
Visualize yourself back in this situation,
How your body feels,
How you're holding yourself in your body,
And notice what sensations come up in this present moment as you reflect back on the situation.
Without labeling the sensations that are coming up,
Notice how it feels in terms of the texture,
The size,
The temperature,
And perhaps notice how the sensation is moving inside of you,
If it's moving at all.
For instance,
You may feel an overall heaviness in your body as you reflect back on a time where you lost your power when you wanted to speak up.
You may feel your heartbeat increasing with a red,
Fiery color.
There's no right or wrong.
Simply notice the sensation and its attributes.
And now,
Allow your body to meet yourself where you're at in these sensations.
Allow your body to organically move in response to these sensations.
So if you did feel an overall heaviness in your body,
What does your body naturally want to do in response?
Does your body want to surrender to that weight and lie down on the floor,
Being supported by the ground?
If you felt your heart racing with a red,
Fiery energy,
How does your body naturally want to respond to that?
Allow your body to give it what it's asking for,
Even if you're not sure.
Just trust that your body knows as you make movements to respond to the sensation.
With this,
You are meeting yourself exactly where you're at in terms of how you feel about the ways that you haven't been able to speak up and express anger in an empowered way.
And I'm asking you here to take care of that part of you.
To really listen,
And without trying to solve it or fix it or push it away,
To just be with that part of you.
Because often there is shame,
Guilt,
Feeling bad about yourself,
Feeling not good enough.
So be with that part without pushing it away.
And maybe some words come up,
A mantra comes up,
To let yourself know that it's okay to have this part of you within you.
This part of you that does not yet know or feel confident enough or safe enough to express anger in an empowered way.
Take another minute to be with this part of you.
Now,
Let's tune into the part of you that is safe enough,
That is capable of expressing yourself in an empowered way without falling into fear.
Even if you're not sure if this part of you exists,
Trust that it does.
It may be small,
It may be quiet,
But you have an ability to express anger in an empowered way.
So let's tune in to that part of you.
You can close your eyes or lower your gaze and visualize how your body would move.
How you would hold your body,
What your posture would be like,
How would you interact and make gestures with people in your life.
If you are already embodying this version of you that expresses anger in an empowered way without fear.
See this person in your mind's eye and start to feel this person in your body.
This person who is you,
A part of you that you are getting to know,
That you are bringing alive.
Does this version of you stand up taller?
Does this version of you hold your head up higher?
You can try walking as this version of you.
How might you be walking differently?
Whether it's from room to room or out on the street,
How do you embody yourself differently?
Take a minute now to explore that and literally move as if you are already embodying this version of you.
Now you have become familiar with this part of you who has not been able to express anger in an empowered way.
And you've become familiar with how it feels to be a version of you that can express anger in an empowered way.
These are both parts of you that you already embody,
Even if one is much stronger than the other right now.
I'd like to invite you to play and explore moving between these parts.
You can start with the part of you that is able,
That embodies already an ability to express anger without fear.
Start moving that part of you again right now.
And then you can consciously shift into the part of you that has not been able to speak up and express anger without fear.
Including the movements that you did to meet yourself exactly where you're at.
So,
For instance,
You might move from standing up tall,
Walking with more force and power in your step,
To transitioning to feeling really heavy in your body and coming down all the way to the floor.
And whatever else happened as you took care of yourself in that place.
And then whenever you feel called,
You can go back to moving the part of you that feels and is able to speak up and express anger in an empowered way.
So you're doing a dance between these parts of you,
Or rather these parts of you are dancing together,
Back and forth.
And as you explore this for the next minute,
Notice what did your body need to do to go from feeling scared and disempowered to feeling strong,
Confident and empowered.
Notice the movements that your body needed to do.
It can be as simple as taking a deep breath or raising your head to more complex movements like opening up your arms and moving in a way that takes up space.
Remember,
There is no right or wrong.
Simply notice and remember to play as you move between parts.
I'm going to leave two minutes here for you to explore that.
And now,
One last thing.
As you are holding this experience within your body,
Also bring in the imagined visualization of a person or people that you continue to find difficulty in expressing your anger in an empowered way.
Imagine them standing across from you,
Right in front of you,
However the vision comes.
Notice what your body does immediately.
And then,
As you just did,
Make the conscious decision to move in a way that is more empowered,
In a way where you already know how and are confident enough to express anger in an empowered way.
And you can play with this as experimentally as you desire.
So you can visualize this person across from you getting angry too,
Or doing something that has typically put you back into fear.
And as you visualize them doing that,
You may notice that the part of you that is scared becomes louder.
You embody that part of you more.
And as soon as you notice that,
Remind yourself of the part of you that can express anger in an empowered way,
And how this part of you moves.
And move that way,
Because you are in command.
You just have to notice when your body shifts,
And as you do,
You can then make the conscious choice and action to move differently.
You can take the next two minutes to play with this exercise.
Now,
Whatever you're doing,
However you're moving,
I'm going to invite you to bring your movements slowly and gradually to a natural pause.
Perhaps even finding yourself in an ending position that feels supportive to you right now.
And when you get there,
Let's take a deep breath together.
Breathing in,
And breathing out.
You can slowly and gently open your eyes.
Look around your space.
Make physical contact with your body to let you know that you are back in the here and now.
Check in with yourself.
Check in how your body's feeling.
Notice if there are any mantras or phrases coming up.
And remind yourself that this is a practice.
You can come back to this meditation any time that you need.
And if you'd like to do a deeper dive with me,
I have an Insight Timer course called,
You Are Worthy of Love,
Healing from Trauma.
And it is a powerful 10-day course on having healthier patterns,
Including being more empowered and more assertive.
And breaking out of fear to let deeper,
Healthier,
Lasting love in.
You can find that course on my Insight Timer profile.
And I would love to see you there.
Until next time,
You deserve all the love that you desire.
