Navigate Difficult Emotions

Having emotions is what it means to be human, and all of your emotions are vital.

We tend to judge emotions as good or bad, yet we need to be open to all of them, for emotions play an important roll in our lives, they let us know what is valuable to us and what has meaning. They play a part in the decisions we make, both large and small.

When you judge our emotions it has a way of making you want to cling to the good, rather than see the emotions for what they are, which are passing states of being.

In particular, with the so called bad or uncomfortable emotions, there is a tendency to want to push them away. However, we can look at the potentially positive value of them as all emotions are productive in some way.

In this practice today we will work with difficult emotions and support you to move through them.

Transcript

Having emotions is what it means to be human,

And all of your emotions are vital.

In the practice today,

You will work with difficult emotions.

Emotion actually passes through your body relatively quickly if you allow it to be there.

However,

The key is disengaging from the story around the emotion.

We have a tendency to jump in and create the narrative about why we feel a certain way,

And can end up spiraling into it even further,

Where essentially,

You activate it even more within you.

When you can feel the raw emotion without the story,

It begins to pass through with greater ease,

And you can process what is going on inside,

In a supportive and nurturing way.

Find your comfortable seat,

And bring awareness to your breath,

Let the focus of your breath be in your belly,

Feel the support of the ground below,

And in your own time,

I invite you to breathe in for a count of 4,

And out for a count of 6.

Breathe into your belly for a count of 4,

And out for a count of 6.

This allows your mind and your body to calm,

And helps to ground and stabilize you.

Each time you exhale,

Have a sense of a subtle letting go,

A willingness to be in the present moment.

Gradually allow your breath to settle back into a natural and effortless rhythm.

Know that your breath is always here to support you.

And notice what emotion is present.

You don't have to actively seek anything,

Simply be aware of what's here.

Acknowledge anything that arises.

You don't have to push anything away,

You can simply just show it acceptance.

If there is a strong emotion present,

You can name it,

For example,

It might be sadness or anger,

Anxiousness or frustration.

When you name your emotion,

It takes the charge out of it,

As you begin to see that you are not your emotion,

It's simply something you're experiencing,

That's passing through you.

Begin to observe it,

How does it feel in your body?

It could be a tightness,

Pressure,

Contraction,

Heaviness,

Or a sensation of temperature.

Feel into these,

You could even invite yourself to lean into it,

Allow all of it to be there just as it is.

You might even like to view it through the lens of kindness and compassion.

If your mind steps in and wants to tell you a story about the emotion,

Why you feel that way,

Do your best to come back to the sensation of it within your body.

You can even name the feeling of it,

Softly applying a mental label of the feeling or sensation.

Sit with the emotion for a few minutes,

Allow yourself to feel all its nuances,

All its subtlety.

Notice if it has started to shift,

How does it feel now,

Perhaps it feels a little differently in your body.

As the emotion begins to pass,

Ask yourself,

How can I support myself right now,

What do I most need,

Is there any action that I need to take?

Allow these answers to arise within you without judgment.

Tend to yourself with care,

Warmth and kindness.

As you begin to close your practice,

Offer yourself some kind words of love.

You might even like to let yourself know,

I am here for you,

I support you,

I love you.

If it helps,

You can even place a hand over your heart,

Give yourself this gentle affection.

If you feel like you need to continue to sit,

Please do so,

Or you can gradually begin to gently bring yourself out of the practice.

Reviews

It helped relax my nerves

Gentle, easy to understand, nice cadence. Thank you! 🙏

I am glad I have discovered this practice. It is helping me with my anxiety.

I enjoyed this practice even though it’s about difficult emotions and will use it again.

Thank you

Thank you for this beautiful session. It was immersive feeling doing this session.
Keep creating such valuable guided meditation.

Hi Sacha, soothing and relaxing; confirming due to work I did earlier with difficult emotions. Yes, feel in my body; so that I don’t create a story about what they are about. Thank you so much!