Hi,
My name is Elizabeth or Biz Kush,
And I am a therapist and life coach for highly sensitive women.
And in the work that I do with my clients,
As well as my own personal work,
I have found that internal family systems or parts work is incredibly helpful in learning to trust ourselves and just getting to know our inner parts better.
And the idea behind IFS or internal family systems is that we all have different parts of us.
And because of our life circumstances,
Sometimes some of those parts get highly activated and leave us feeling unsettled or maybe behaving in ways we wish we hadn't.
And some of the most familiar parts are like your inner critic or the part of you that wants to procrastinate,
The part of you that is a perfectionist that wants to get everything right,
Parts of you that don't want to be judged.
So they all interact with each other like a system.
And as we get to know each of those parts better and work with the parts because their intentions are good,
It's just sometimes it's hard to see that.
But as we do the work to better know our parts,
The more settled our system feels and the more self-trust we build within.
So this meditation will help you locate a part so that you can begin the inner work to build the trust,
To learn more about it and befriend it.
So take a moment and get comfortable finding a position that you can sit in for a few minutes because this meditation will probably be about 10 minutes long.
Getting a cushion to support your back or finding a chair where your feet are firmly on the ground or a stool or cushion that you can sit on the floor comfortably.
Now we're going to take three long,
Slow,
Deep breaths.
So breathing in deeply into your chest and belly and exhaling slowly all of the air.
And we'll do this two more times,
Breathing in and exhaling it out.
One last time,
Slow,
Deep breath in and letting that air flow out.
And if it feels comfortable,
You can close your eyes or gaze softly in front of you.
Now turn your focus inward to your physical self,
Noticing any sensations throughout your body.
And as you focus inward,
It may feel uncomfortable or distressing.
And if it does,
Just notice that,
That that's there.
And if it feels too uncomfortable to be focusing on your body,
You can certainly open your eyes and see if that's helpful.
And I want you to think of a time where things were a little bit hard,
Where you were struggling and whether it was because of an inner critical part or a perfectionist part or a part that is really fearful of being judged.
Whatever that discomfort was at that time,
Just bringing that to mind,
That experience,
And notice where you feel the discomfort in your body.
Bringing your attention there,
Wherever you're feeling that.
Maybe it's tension in your chest or your heart space.
Maybe you feel constriction in your throat or pressure in your forehead or behind your eyes.
Or maybe it's discomfort in your belly.
And I want you to just bring that focused attention to wherever you're feeling physical sensations that feel most present,
That are taking up most of your attention.
And just kindly rest your attention there on that part of your body.
And notice what it feels like.
Is it hot or cold,
Burning?
Does the feeling have a temperature or texture?
Are there images or words or memories and feelings that arise as you focus on those physical sensations?
And notice how you're feeling towards this part of you that's experiencing the discomfort.
And if you are wishing it would go away or feeling like you really hate this part of you,
Maybe just sitting with those feelings a little bit longer and getting curious about how you're experiencing this sensation in your body.
But if you find that you are curious and want to know more about this part of you,
Why it's uncomfortable,
Why it says what it does,
Why it does what it does,
I wonder if you would be open to listen to what it has to say.
And maybe you could even ask that part what it needs you to know right here,
Right now.
Can you find some kind,
Compassionate words to offer this part of you?
And some gratitude for this part being so willing to share its fears,
Its feelings,
Its experience,
What it needs.
And if it feels open to hearing from you,
You could ask this part what it's afraid of if it didn't do this job,
If it didn't judge or criticize,
If it didn't push you to be perfect or push you to procrastinate.
What is it afraid might happen?
And can you hear that with an open heart?
And now if you could just take a moment to thank that part for sharing whatever it was that it shared with you.
And even if it was only that physical sensation that you were able to connect with,
Thank that part for showing you that.
Thank that part for working so hard to keep you safe,
To protect you from hurt.
And now take a moment to move your body in a way that feels comfortable for you.
Maybe it's taking a few more deep breaths,
Wiggling your fingers and toes,
Stretching,
Whatever feels right for you.
And I just want to offer my thanks and gratitude for being here and meditating with me today.
Sometimes parts work and the inner work of internal family systems can take time.
It can take some time for our parts to trust us,
To really show up,
To tell us some of their fears or their worries,
Why they do what they do.
And so if you weren't able to access that today,
No worries.
There is no judgment there.
And maybe you'll just come back to this meditation and try it again and see what arises for you.
But the key is to enter this space with kindness and compassion for all your parts when possible.
Well,
Once again,
Yes,
Thank you for joining me in this meditation.
And I hope that your parts work journey continues in a beautiful way as you get to know your inner self better and you begin to build that trust within.
Once again,
I'm Elizabeth Kusch or Biz Kusch,
And I'm a life coach and a therapist.
You can find me anywhere you listen to podcasts or on the internet.
