Mindfulness To Release Anger

This is a short, thirteen minute mindfulness exercise to get in touch with anger/resentment/triggers and help you release the energy and emotion. This exercise can be done as often as needed to help release anger when it arises.

Transcript

In this meditation,

I am going to share a mindfulness exercise you can use anytime to help alleviate feelings of anger or resentment.

Sometimes we feel anger or resentment and it may be related to some memories or some unprocessed energy or even something that just happened that was triggering.

Mindfulness has been shown to help reduce anxiety,

Depression,

Fatigue,

Improve self-esteem and energy,

Increase self-mastery and motivation,

And help with healing and relaxation.

So today for all these reasons,

It's a wonderful tool for managing anger,

Healing resentment,

And setting the stage for some deep forgiveness.

Feeling angry is part of being human.

Anger can come from many different experiences and it's normal to feel angry at some point in our lives.

And it's also sometimes easy to forget that anger can be a healthy emotion.

Sometimes it comes from a place of wishing things to be better or improved,

Like being angry about just general injustices in the world.

Anger itself as an emotion is not bad or wrong.

It's what we do with anger that makes a difference.

If we suppress it,

It can cause harm to our body,

Mind,

And spirit.

If we express it in a way that is volatile,

It can also harm our relationships,

Our interactions with others,

And eventually it can feel dangerous,

Destructive,

And scary for ourselves and others.

And so expressing anger in a healthy way is not only useful,

But necessary to own our human experience.

Take a moment and just take a deep breath.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out through your mouth.

One way we can try to diffuse anger is to let it out before it builds and builds and builds and then there's a big blow up.

If you feel anger or frustration building,

You could try going for a walk,

Chatting with a friend,

Breathing fully in and out like we just did,

Or journaling.

The key is not to allow the buildup of anger.

So in this meditation,

This mindfulness exercise,

We are going to just do an exercise to help the anger not build up,

To let it out as you are noticing it coming up.

So get comfortable where you're seated.

If you're laying down,

Get comfortable on the surface that you're laying down and just breathe.

Breathing in and out through your nose and just notice in this moment,

What do you notice in your body when anger arises?

There is always a physical sensation that can alert us that anger is present.

For some people it can be feeling heat come up.

Sometimes it's thoughts that start to race,

Some people start to sweat,

They recognize that their heart is beating faster.

Even they notice that their fists start to clench by themselves.

Just notice what happens in your body.

And as you're recognizing and noticing and observing,

Just breathe.

Just breathe.

Sometimes it's helpful to bring mindfulness to learning more about a situation before we jump to conclusions or make assumptions.

Sometimes asking a question or bringing some curiosity to what you think you're angry about can help.

Sometimes we have assumed something that is totally different than what reality is.

And oftentimes when the emotion of anger is present,

There is usually a core belief beneath the anger.

Perhaps a belief of,

I am not enough or I am unworthy.

And what just happened is triggering those underlying core beliefs.

So when your anger comes up,

See if you can sense if there's something deeper underneath that anger and just breathe.

And start to notice when the anger comes up or these underlying core beliefs are challenged,

Where do you feel that in your body?

Where do you notice that anger energy?

And bring the breath to that area.

Maybe place a hand there to really tune in.

And remember that anger is normal.

And when our core beliefs are challenged or triggered,

We don't feel good.

Emotionally,

We don't feel well when those are triggered.

In these moments,

It's important to give yourself some compassion and tell yourself,

I love you.

It's going to be okay.

So with all of this in mind,

Let's practice these techniques in the mindfulness practice together.

You can do this anytime you recognize anger arising.

So let's begin.

Breathe and bring your awareness to whatever is going on for you right now.

And again,

Notice where in your body you feel anger or you feel these core beliefs being triggered and bring your breath to that place.

Imagine that you are sitting in the middle of that space in your body where you feel the anger,

Where you feel the trigger,

And you're sitting in the middle of it and observing it.

Almost like you're at a museum looking at the paintings on the wall.

Just sit and observe.

Cry if you need to cry.

Let emotion out.

As you notice any tension,

Resistance,

Anything that feels painful,

Come back to the breath and allow the breath to soften those thoughts and feelings,

Those sensations.

Allow the breath to allow those sensations to become even softer.

Continue to give yourself some compassion and tell yourself,

I love you.

This is going to be okay.

Tell that part of yourself that can feel the anger and that can feel the trigger.

I love you.

This is going to be okay.

I see you.

I hear you.

The anger,

The trigger is just an indication of a part of us that wants to be heard,

That wants to be understood.

And we're taking a moment to be mindful that we hear,

We see,

And we understand ourselves.

Any thought comes up.

Come back to the breath.

Let the thoughts pass.

Don't attach to the content.

Come back to the feelings,

Sensations in the body and breathe.

Repeating to yourself and to the emotion that is coming up.

I see you.

I hear you.

I understand you.

I love you.

This is going to be okay.

If any judgment comes up,

Come back to the breath.

Repeating,

I see you.

I feel you.

I understand you.

I love you.

This is all going to be okay.

Do this as often as you need.

Drop into this space of anger or what's being triggered and breathe into it,

Repeating the mantra as I see you.

I hear you.

I feel you.

I understand you.

I love you.

This is going to be okay as often as you can until you start to feel the anger or the trigger start to subside as you notice it starts to soften.

And when it feels like it has fully softened and has left your body,

Take three deep breaths.

Deep breath in and let it out.

Deep breath in and let it out.

One more deep breath in and let it out.

Tell yourself,

I love you.

I accept you.

Do this as often as you need to help yourself relieve the sensations of anger,

Resentment as they come up.

Continue to repeat,

I love you.

I accept you.

Namaste.