Meditation For Sitting With Emotions

Find a comfortable position,

Either seated or lying down.

If there's anything you're going to change or think about or be distracted by during this meditation,

Go ahead and change it now.

Begin by taking a deep breath in through your nose for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven.

Out through the mouth for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Take a few more deep breaths on your own.

We're going to begin by getting present in the moment right now.

We're going to begin noticing.

So just notice your presence in this moment.

Notice if you're able to be right in the here and now,

Or notice if you're distracted.

There's no need to try and change where your brain is right now.

Just notice.

Notice where your attention is,

How it's felt throughout the day.

Just making note,

Not shaming,

Not trying to change,

Just noticing.

And then go ahead and shift your attention to your physical body.

How does your physical body feel?

Are you tired?

Are you sore?

Are you energetic?

And then I'd like you to scan your body and notice if there's any points of pain,

Tension,

Or tightness.

Let's begin at our toes,

Going up through our feet,

Into our ankles,

Into our calves,

Shins.

Now at our knees,

Up through our thighs,

Then through your pelvis,

Your hips,

Your butt,

Your lower abdomen,

Your upper abdomen,

And back.

Through your shoulders,

Down through your arms,

Your forearms,

Your wrists,

Your hands,

All the way through your fingertips.

Go back to your shoulders,

Your neck,

Your chin,

Your ears,

The back of your head,

Your face,

Your eyes,

All the way through the crown of your head.

Again,

Just noticing if any of these areas feel tight or tense,

Not trying to change it,

Just noticing.

Now going back down through our body,

Notice if there's any areas that feel the opposite,

That feel clear,

Open,

Calm.

So starting from the crown of your head,

All the way down through your face,

Your eyes,

Your nose,

Your mouth,

Your ears,

Your chin,

Your neck,

Through your shoulders,

Your arms,

Your forearms,

Your wrists,

Your fingers,

Your chest,

Upper abdomen and back,

Lower abdomen and back,

Butt,

Pelvis,

Your upper thighs,

Hamstrings,

Your knees,

Your shins,

Your calves,

Your ankles,

The heel of your foot,

All the way through the arch of your foot to the front of your foot and your toes.

Just noticing if anything feels open,

Not trying to change it,

Just letting it be there.

So,

Begin to take your attention away from your physical body and bring it towards your emotional body.

How do you feel emotionally?

Maybe a word comes to mind,

Maybe a feeling comes to mind,

Maybe there's multiple emotions at once,

Maybe even these emotions contradict each other and that's okay.

Just notice,

Not trying to change it.

And if you are feeling some conflicting emotions,

Try and notice and be grateful for the mind and body's amazing ability to hold space for multiple things at once.

Now,

Let's compare how our emotional body and our physical body feel.

As you scan quickly in your own mind through your body,

Notice if any of those pockets of pain correspond with a certain type of emotion that you're feeling.

Maybe they're completely different.

Whatever it is,

It's meant to be just that way.

You don't need to change it,

Just allow it,

Accept it,

Let your mind relax.

Allow your focus to wash away from your emotions or your physical state.

Just let it go.

Slowly,

Let your mind begin to bring forward a safe place,

Whatever that means to you.

This could be a room or a home you loved as a child,

A place in nature,

A hotel room at your favorite vacation spot,

Or wherever your mind goes,

Just trust it.

And if you're having trouble finding a safe space,

Know that you can imagine one.

It doesn't have to be realistic,

It could be something completely made up.

Somewhere you feel perfectly safe.

Start visualizing this place,

Creating this little spot of safety in your mind.

Notice the colors you're seeing,

How vivid they are.

Notice the light around you,

What time of day it is.

Notice if there's any smells.

Notice the temperature of the space.

Notice this place,

How the air feels against your skin.

Notice what you're hearing,

If there are any sounds,

Or if it is completely quiet.

Notice if there's any taste in your mouth,

Or taste in the air.

And as you begin to visualize all these details,

Just allow yourself to be present there,

Allow it to be real in your mind's eye.

And once you're able to completely visualize this safe space,

Notice how you feel here.

Notice how this safety feels in your body.

Know that nothing externally changed in order to get here,

Which means that this safety is available to you at any time.

Let the image slowly dissolve and drift away,

And instead of focusing on the visualization,

Begin to just focus on this feeling of safety that's within you now.

Hold on to it,

Just sit with it,

Appreciate it.

Begin to tell yourself,

Your emotional and your physical body,

That you are safe,

And that it is safe to feel anything you need to feel right now.

Bringing back those original pockets that you felt,

Maybe of tension or of clarity,

Bring them back up.

Know that this safety is in you,

And that it is safe for any emotion or any feeling that wants to come up,

To come up now.

Maybe there's not a word to describe the feeling that's coming up,

And that's okay,

Just really be present with however it feels in your body.

All you are doing is allowing it to move through you.

You are simply just sitting here,

Feeling it.

It is safe for you to feel any emotion that you need to feel right now.

If your mind has been taken elsewhere and begun to ruminate or wander,

Or think about whatever may be causing this emotion,

Just try and let it go.

The cause of this emotion doesn't matter right now,

All that matters is giving this emotion the space to be.

Bring back your focus to the feeling in your emotional and physical body.

Give yourself whatever you need to fully feel this emotion.

Give it permission to move through you.

And if you need to,

Begin to let it move through this physical body.

You could squeeze your palms tightly and then release them.

You could cry,

Let out noise,

A groan,

A scream.

You could move,

Shake,

Whatever you feel called to do.

Whatever movement or sound or moment needs to happen in order for this emotion to be released,

Give yourself the permission to do so.

Let yourself,

Without shame,

Without filter,

Without any control,

Just be with the feeling that is within you right now.

When we allow space to really sit with the feelings we have instead of avoiding them,

We realize that these emotions are fleeting.

They come and they go.

When you allow them space to move,

They will move through you.

Take these last few moments to really just give yourself anything else you need to move through this feeling.

Any last tears,

Movement,

Noises,

Whatever needs to come up,

Just let it.

Now begin to see this emotion as an image.

Maybe you've given it a name,

Maybe you haven't.

Either way,

Try and see if you can visualize what this emotion might look like.

Maybe it's a color or multiple different colors.

Maybe it has a texture or it's translucent.

Maybe it's solid.

Notice what type of shape it has.

Just allow these images to come up to your mind.

Again,

Trusting your mind to take you where it needs to go.

And as you visualize this emotion,

We're going to let it dissolve and let it wash through you.

We can do this by placing this emotion into a running river.

You could place it into a bubble or a balloon and let it float to the sky or let it pop and soak into the ground.

Whatever you need to visualize in order to really let this emotion dissolve,

Let this emotion go and let it wash over you,

Wash through you,

And back into the ground,

Into the energy of the earth where it came from.

Do that now.

Know that this emotion is safe.

It's not going to hurt you.

It's just going to move through you.

It can come and it can go.

Once you've been able to let this image of your emotion go,

Go ahead and take a deep breath through your nose for one,

Two,

Three,

Four.

Hold for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Out through your mouth for one,

Two,

Three,

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Four,

Five,

Six,

Seven,

Eight.

Take a few deep breaths at your own pace.

And as you begin to feel ready to come back into the room,

Just slowly wiggle your toes,

Wiggle your hands,

Move your body in any small way,

Just to let it know it is time to come back to the present moment.

Slowly blink your eyes open and rest your hands on your belly or your chest.

Maybe give yourself a hug.

Take a moment to thank yourself.

Send yourself gratitude for allowing you to feel these emotions today.

Thank yourself for giving you this wonderful gift.

And know that anytime you can come right back here to access and let go of any emotion that you've been needing to work through.