Alleviate Feelings Of Anger And Resentment

Elevate feelings of anger and resentment In this exercise,

I'm going to share a mindfulness exercise.

You can use any time to help elevate feelings of anger and resentment that may be related to memories and unprocessed energy.

Mindfulness has been shown to help reduce anxiety,

Depression,

Pain and fatigue,

Improve self-esteem and energy,

Increase self-mastery and motivation,

And help with healing and relaxation.

For all these reasons,

It's a wonderful tool for managing anger,

Healing resentment,

And setting the stage for forgiveness and kindness.

Sometimes it's easy to forget that anger can be a healthy emotion.

It can come from a place of wishing things to be better or improved,

Like being angry about the injustice of slaves' labor around the world,

For example.

Expressing anger in healthy ways is useful because bottling up anger numbs your other feelings as well,

And it wears on your health.

Pretending that you are not resentment or angry when you are is inauthentic,

Which people can sense,

And it is also harmful to your health when it's bottled up inside,

Often just getting hotter or more reactive.

On the other hand,

Anger can be an emotional rollercoaster that stresses the body,

And can often feel dangerous,

Destructive and scary for yourself and for others.

There are a few ways to bring mindfulness to anger.

One way is to try to diffuse anger before there is a big blow-up.

See if you can blow off steam along the way if you feel anger or frustration building.

Try going for a walk,

Chatting with a friend,

Breathing fully in and out,

Or journaling about how you are feeling.

In other words,

Try not to accumulate a build-up of irritation as your day progresses.

It is also helpful to bring mindfulness to learning more about a situation before jumping to conclusions.

Sometimes asking questions or bring curiosity to what you think you are angry about can lead to the realization that you may have assumed something is different than how it actually is.

Or that it wasn't as black and white as you thought it was.

And finally,

When the emotion of anger is present,

See if you can sense internally into the softer emotions beneath anger,

Such as hurt or fear.

Can you sense these underlying emotions anywhere in your mind or body?

If so,

Simply and gently acknowledge them with a sense of kindness and remember that these feelings are absolutely normal.

Stay with these sensations,

Share compassion for yourself and wish yourself well.

So,

With that in mind,

Let's practice these techniques in a mindfulness exercise together that you can do anytime when you are feeling anger.

So to begin,

Bring your awareness to whatever is going on for you right now.

Give the weight of your body up to the gravity.

Allow your weight to sink into the points of contact between your body and the floor or the chair or the bed.

What sensations are there right now?

If you notice any tension or resistance towards painful or unpleasant sensations,

Gently turn towards them.

Accept them as best you can.

If you begin to tense around the breath,

Then let go a little bit more with each out-breath,

Soften into gravity.

Notice any thoughts as they arise and pass through the mind.

See if you can let them come and go without being too identified with their content.

Observe as if they were clouds in the sky.

Notice any feelings and emotions as they arise.

Can you let these come and go?

Include everything within your awareness with a kindly perspective.

Now,

Allow your awareness to gather around the experience of the breath deep in the body.

Drop your awareness inside the breath and feel the different sensations in the front,

Back and sides of the torso.

Can you feel your awareness within the flow and movement of the breath?

Using the breath to anchor your awareness in the present moment.

Breathing in the body,

Noticing each inhale and exhale again and again.

Each time you notice your mind has wandered,

Gently guide the mind back to the breath deep in the body.

Now,

Gently expand your awareness to include the whole body.

Feel the weight and shape of the body as it sits,

Stands or lies.

If you've got any pain or discomfort,

Make sure your awareness stays open.

Cultivate acceptance or acknowledgement for all of your experience.

Now,

Follow your breath as it comes in and then out of your body without trying to change it.

Simply be aware of it and any feelings associated with it.

Give full attention to each in-breath and then to each out-breath.

Let go of this person or pet and continue to keep in awareness the feelings that arise.

If you feel open,

Bring to mind now and see if you can offer loving kindness to yourself by letting these words become your words.

May I be happy.

May I live in peace.

May I be free from mental pain.

May my heart be filled with love and kindness.

Repeat this a few times in your mind or say it loud.

May I be happy.

May I live in peace.

May I be free from mental pain.

May my heart be filled with love and kindness.

Notice the feelings and sensations that arise and let them be.

Let the sensations of kindness and spread throughout your body.

Now,

Bring to mind a person or a pet for whom you are happy to see and have deep feelings of love.

Imagine or sense that this person or pet,

Noticing the feelings you have for them arise and let them be.

Let the feelings you have for them arise in your body.

It may be a smile that spreads across your face.

It may be a warmth in your body.

Whatever it is,

Allow it to be felt.

Now,

Try offering loving kindness to someone who supports you.

May you be happy.

May you live in peace.

May you be free from mental pain.

May your heart be filled with love and kindness.

Repeat this a few times in your mind or say it loud.

May you be happy.

May you live in peace.

May you be free from mental pain.

May your heart be filled with love and kindness.

Notice the feelings and sensations that arise and see if you can just allow them and let them be.

Imagine the person whom you send your wishes for,

He or she is happy and thank you for it.

Notice that your anger and resentment be replaced by loving kindness as you wish yourself and others to be well and happy.

Great!

Thank you for your courage to do this exercise with me.

The more you practice this,

The more you'll be able to diffuse anger and turn it into healthy action and decision making.

For the benefit of yourself and others.

So,

To recap,

Sometimes it's easy to forget that anger can be a healthy emotion.

Expressing it in healthy ways is often useful.

Try to diffuse anger before there is a big blow up by blowing off steam along the way.

Also,

Bring mindfulness to learning about a situation before jumping to conclusions.

And finally,

See if you can sense internally into the softer emotions beneath anger,

Light heart or fear.

I hope these techniques help you.

Thank you for your mindfulness.

Namaste.