Hi,
I'm Sarah from Metaya and this is a neurodivergent-friendly mindfulness meditation with the emotional landscapes,
Exploring joy,
Sadness,
Fear and anger.
Welcome.
Take a moment to arrive.
Find a position that feels reasonably comfortable for your body.
You might sit upright with your feet on the floor or lie down if that feels better today.
Let your hands rest wherever they feel natural.
If it feels comfortable,
You may gently close your eyes.
If you prefer,
Keep your eyes open with a soft gaze.
Take a moment to notice that you are here.
Give yourself the opportunity to fully arrive in your posture in the here and now.
During this meditation,
We will first focus on the breath,
Then the body and then briefly explore four common emotional feeling tones.
Joy,
Sadness,
Fear and anger.
There is no expectation that you must feel these emotions during the practice.
Some people notice clear emotions and some mainly notice body sensations and sometimes nothing obvious appears and that's also okay.
All of these experiences are completely normal.
If at any moment something feels uncomfortable or too intense,
You can gently support yourself by opening your eyes,
Noticing the room around you,
Feeling the contact of your body with the chair or floor or returning your attention to the breath.
You are always free to pause,
Shift your posture or rest your attention on something that feels stable.
I invite you to approach this practice with gentle curiosity rather than pressure and now bring your attention to the breath.
There is no need to change how you are breathing.
Just noticing the natural rhythm.
You might notice the breath at the nose or the chest or the belly.
Choose whichever place is easiest to sense and let your attention rest in the subtle movement of your breath.
The in-breath and the out-breath.
If your attention moves to thoughts or sounds,
That is completely normal.
When you notice this,
Gently guide your attention back to the breath and if the breath is difficult to feel,
You can instead notice the contact of your feet on the ground or the weight of your body on the chair or on your mat.
Now I would like to ask you to expand your awareness to include the body,
Noticing the points where the body touches the chair,
The floor or cushion,
The weight of the body being supported.
And you might notice areas that feel relaxed and other areas that feel tight or tense.
There is no need to change anything.
Just observing what is already present.
Emotions often appear first as sensations in the body.
So in the next part of the practice we will simply notice how different emotional tones may show up as body sensations.
And we will gently explore four emotional landscapes.
You may notice these emotions clearly,
Subtly or not at all.
Whatever your experience is,
It's completely fine.
If nothing appears,
You can simply stay with the breath or the body.
First I would like to invite you to explore the emotional tone of joy.
Joy often appears in the body as lightness,
Warmth or openness.
And you might notice a relaxed face,
An open chest or a sense of ease in the body.
What do you notice?
You might also simply notice a small sense of pleasantness.
If you notice something like this,
You might silently name it as joy or pleasant.
And just observing and noticing where this sensation appears in the body.
Joy.
If nothing appears,
Simply notice the breath or the body.
Both are perfectly fine.
And now I would like to ask you to gently shift your attention towards sadness.
Sadness often shows up as heaviness or slowing down.
You might notice sensations in the chest or throat.
Perhaps a feeling of pressure,
Heaviness or tiredness.
Take the time to notice if there is anything that you feel right now.
You might notice quieter energy in the body.
If sadness is present you might simply acknowledge it.
Sadness.
There is no need to analyze it.
Just allowing the body to experience what is present.
And if it feels supportive you might place a hand on your chest or belly and continue breathing.
And now bring your attention to fear.
Fear often appears as alertness in the body.
You might notice tension in the belly or your shoulders or the jaw.
Is there anything you feel in particular?
It can be helpful to recall the situation where you felt fear.
And it can be that the breath may feel slightly faster or your mind may move towards future thoughts.
How to solve the situation.
And if you notice signs of fear or anxiety simply recognize it.
Fear is here.
And you might gently lengthen the exhale of the breath.
Feel your feet touching the ground.
Soothing yourself.
Allowing the body to sense stability in this moment.
You can be stable even if there is fear.
I would like to ask you to become aware of anger.
Anger often appears as strong energy in the body.
You might notice warmth or heat.
Tension in the jaw.
Or energy in the arms or chest.
To act,
To run.
And if you find it helpful you can recall a situation the last time you felt really angry.
And how did that feel?
You might also notice irritation or frustration.
If anger is present simply recognize it.
This is anger.
Allowing the energy to be felt in the body without needing to act on it.
You might notice your spine becoming more upright.
And feel the feet on the ground.
Breathing steadily.
You can stay present with anger.
And now let go focusing on any particular emotion.
Simply noticing what is present in the body and mind.
Emotions change over time.
Sensations may increase,
Decrease or move to another area of the body.
And if we pay attention we can observe these changes.
And if nothing noticeable appears simply rest your attention on the breath or the body.
Bring your focus to the breath.
Feeling the inhale and the exhale.
And allowing the breath to anchor your attention again.
And before we finish take a moment to ask yourself.
How do I feel right now?
You might ask yourself quietly.
How do I feel in this moment?
Where do I notice sensations in my body?
And there is no need to answer perfectly.
Just noticing.
And knowing that this kind of awareness does not need to stay only within meditation.
You can bring it into everyday life.
At different moments during the day you might pause briefly and ask yourself.
How do I feel right now?
Where do I notice this feeling in my body?
And know that even a short pause can help bring attention back to the present moment.
And through these small moments of awareness we gradually learn more about our patterns and reactions.
This awareness can help us respond more consciously rather than automatically repeating the same old patterns.
And this is what you did in this practice.
For now take one or two deeper breaths.
Feeling the body where it rests.
And when you will hear the bell you might choose the best way to end this practice.
A way that actually helps you to take this awareness with you into the rest of your day.
