Hello dear friend,
Pasha Lindy here.
Today we'll be practicing mindful breathing and mindfulness of thoughts and emotions to help us reduce rumination and reduce reactivity.
So in this meditation I'm going to be encouraging you to notice and soften any tension you find in your body,
In your heart or in your mind.
Often our reactivity is really triggered when an emotion comes along and we really identify with it.
So an emotion arises and we grab hold of it and we make it our only truth and then we have lots of stories and thoughts about the situation and we just believe those,
We identify with those.
This happens when we're overreactive and this happens when we're overly ruminative as well.
So this meditation might be helpful if you're suffering from anxiety,
Anger,
Sadness or depression or feeling stuck in any emotion or situation.
Essentially we'll be learning how to soften ourselves in the face of challenge,
How to soften the body,
Let go of tension and let things go more easily.
If you practice this practice regularly in the morning it's going to have an impact that will benefit you later on in the day too.
You'll find you get your day off to a calm balanced start but also you'll be better able to handle the thoughts and emotions that are challenging for you in the day as well.
We're bringing a soft spacious and friendly awareness to whatever arises in our experience.
So let's start the practice.
We can do this practice with our eyes closed but I love to do this practice outdoors with my eyes open so that I'm not separate from the world but part of it so you could choose either.
So getting comfortable and taking a few moments to check in with our posture,
Making sure that we're well supported,
That we're both upright and comfortable.
And as we scan through the body when we come across tension,
Just inviting some softening there.
Releasing tension on the out breath.
If you notice that some of the muscles in your body are tight,
You're holding on to tension there,
Just inviting that tension to release,
Letting go as much as you can.
Noticing the shoulders,
The jaw,
Inviting softening in these places and also around the eyeballs,
Letting go of any tension there and softening the tummy muscles as we take some nice deep breaths.
And keeping our attention with the breathing,
Just noticing where in the body you can feel the movements of breathing the most vividly.
Is it in the chest,
The abdomen,
In the shoulders or at the nostrils perhaps?
But wherever we feel the breath moving the most vividly,
Resting the attention there.
Seeing if you can track all those movements of breathing right the way from the beginning of each breath all the way through to the end.
Feeling all of those different muscles moving as you breathe in and out.
Don't worry if you get caught up in thoughts,
It happens,
But bringing your attention back to resting on the movements of breathing.
Feeling all those movements of the body breathing.
When you notice thinking,
Letting it go,
Letting it flow past like driftwood on a river.
And coming back to the breathing.
So when thoughts arise and we grab hold of them,
Identify with them,
Make them true,
We let go,
We soften any tension in the mind,
Any tension in the body,
Letting the thoughts go as best we can.
Our mind doesn't need to be free of thoughts,
We're just not getting involved with them,
Not saying yes to them,
Not saying no to them.
It's a bit like standing on the riverbank and watching the water flow past rather than jumping into the river.
Letting ourselves be spacious and soft.
And some thoughts come with a strong emotion,
Kind of like an emotional current or a strong undertow.
So when you notice an emotion arising,
If you're feeling anxious or angry or sad,
Or frustrated or ruminating.
Again,
Noticing how that feels in the body and just letting go,
Using the out-breath to soften and soothe around that emotion.
Some parts of your body will be holding the emotional tension more than others.
For instance,
When I'm angry,
I feel tension in my shoulders.
So that's where we can focus the letting go,
The softening,
The soothing.
So we're softening and soothing emotional tension in the body and we're also softening any tension in the mind.
Any tension in the mind by letting go of thoughts.
It's like we're unhooking from reactivity and rumination.
So releasing any tendency to grab onto any thoughts or emotions as best we can.
It's not always easy.
Sometimes thoughts and emotions really sweep us away.
We're softening,
Releasing tension,
Not taking things personally.
So that any need to respond can come from a calm,
Rational place.
They're just thoughts,
Just emotions.
We don't have to take them personally.
We don't have to identify with them.
And if some thoughts and emotions are really difficult to let go,
That's okay.
We don't have to make them disappear.
Just letting them be.
As best we can.
Letting them become part of the background.
And as we come to the end of this practice,
Just giving yourself permission to notice any feelings of well-being that we've cultivated.
Any sense of presence,
Calm,
Feeling grounded and giving yourself permission to really enjoy those feelings for a few moments.
You can be proud of those.
That's the fruit of your practice.
This practice is especially useful if we know we're going into challenging times or expecting that we might ruminate or be reactive during our day.
So in times of difficulty,
Really encouraging you to make time for practice.
You know that old Zen saying that you should sit in meditation for 20 minutes a day unless you're busy,
In which case you should sit for an hour.
See if you can remember this letting go,
Softening and soothing practice during the rest of your day.
Letting go of tension in the body.
Letting go of emotional tension.
Letting go of thoughts.
Well,
Take care dear friend.
Until next time,
Bye-bye for now.
