Somatic Journey For Releasing Emotions

This meditation is for the part of you that's tired of holding everything together.

In this somatic journey,

We will look with compassion at the emotions you may have absorbed in your family environment and maybe never had words for.

You will be guided to listen to your body and to set down what you've been carrying.

You may like to begin by getting just a little more comfortable than you are right now.

There's nothing special you need to do.

You might choose to lie down or place a pillow under your knees.

And as you do that,

You might also begin to notice your breathing.

Some people become aware of the coolness of the air coming through their nose.

Others notice the warmth of the breath as it leaves the body.

You might notice one more than the other.

Or you might just have a gentle sense that the breath is there in the background,

Moving all on its own.

You can let your eyes close now.

Or you can just leave them soft,

Maybe half open.

Either way is fine.

Your body knows how to relax with eyes open or closed.

And as you listen to my voice,

You may also begin to hear other sounds.

Sounds in the room,

Sounds outside of the room,

Perhaps even the sound of your own breathing.

You don't have to push any of them away.

You can let every sound be a reminder that you are here now,

That this moment is only for you.

Some people notice that one part of the body begins to relax before the others.

Maybe your shoulders drop,

The muscles around your eyes begin to release,

Your thoughts fall away.

You might notice that.

Or you might only notice later that something has softened without you trying.

And as your conscious mind listens to the words,

Another quieter part of you can begin to drift,

To wander,

To discover its own way of resting.

You don't need to make that happen.

You can simply allow it,

Because there's a part of you that already knows how to go inside,

To find what you need in the ways that are right for you in this moment.

As you bring your attention to your body,

Notice any tightness,

Any pressure,

Any stress points that might be connected to what you'd like to feel lighter about.

Noticing any tension in your jaw,

Breathing wide across your chest,

And softening your belly.

Silently saying to your body,

I am here,

I am listening.

Feel how the body responds when you turn towards yourself.

As emotions build up in all the various experiences in your life,

They tend to accumulate in the body,

Left unattended.

Notice what happens when you give yourself your full attention,

Rather than trying to respond the way others might like you to.

Maybe it feels like relief,

The kind we have when we finally arrive home and set down that heavy bag,

This time you're giving yourself to put down what you've been carrying.

With your next deep breath,

Let your awareness travel back to your family,

The house you grew up in,

The way big feelings were handled there.

Were people allowed to be angry?

Or did anger arrive like a storm that everyone braced for?

Maybe it showed up as slammed doors,

Sharp words,

Or a heavy silence that lasted for days.

Was sadness welcomed?

Or did it have to hide?

Did someone sit with you when you cried?

Or were you told to be strong,

To get over it,

To stop making a fuss?

Could you express what you felt honestly?

Or did you learn to smile when you were hurting,

To say,

I'm fine,

When you were anything but?

Maybe anger was explosive and frightening.

Maybe sadness was quietly ignored or met with discomfort and quick advice to look on the bright side.

Maybe disappointment had no place because you were told to be grateful instead.

Maybe excitement and joy had to be toned down so you wouldn't be too much.

Maybe vulnerability was met with a joke.

A change of subject.

Or a reminder that other people had it worse.

You're not blaming anyone.

You're simply acknowledging the emotional climate you grew up in and how it may have shaped the way you hold and express emotions today.

Getting curious why you might shut down in certain situations.

Providing space now for your body to metabolize what has been stored inside.

As you feel ready,

Bringing your awareness back once again to your body.

Perhaps anger stepped in to protect you from feeling too much.

Maybe sadness slipped into the background.

Unseen.

Unfelt.

Joy and excitement toned down until you couldn't find them inside anymore.

Notice how your body responds as you remember.

There might be a tightening in your chest.

A heaviness in your stomach.

A familiar drop in your energy.

Notice if you tell yourself,

Don't be so sensitive.

Don't overreact.

This shouldn't be bothering you.

It's all in the past now anyways.

Let yourself be curious.

What might have built up within your heart?

Things you felt you couldn't say or shouldn't say.

Stay with your breath as you listen.

Inhale.

I'm here with you.

Exhale.

You are allowed to notice what you feel inside.

Place one hand on your heart and one on your belly.

Let your breath move between your hands.

With each inhale,

Feel a little more space inside.

With each exhale,

Feel a little more weight leaving your body.

Place a hand on the part of your body that reacts most.

Sharing with every cell of your body,

I'm listening.

You don't have to carry this anymore.

You are simply practicing how all emotions can move through you instead of directing you or disappearing inside of you.

As you continue to breathe,

Allowing curiosity to rise,

Some of the anger you feel today might be older than you.

Some of the sadness you carry might have begun in the hearts of those who came before you.

Maybe you watched a parent swallow their anger to keep the peace.

Maybe you felt the quiet sadness of someone in your family who struggled.

Maybe they apologized when they weren't the one who did anything wrong,

Just to smooth things over.

As a child,

You didn't have words for this,

Yet your body noticed.

Breathing into the awareness that you learned from them,

Even without words,

You learned which emotions were welcome and which were not.

Let your body remember those you grew up with,

Those you could sense anxiety in,

The way people hovered or worried or overplanned or needed everything to be just right.

Maybe you picked up on unspoken resentments in the sighs,

The long pauses,

The way certain topics were never mentioned.

As a child,

You might have felt in the knot in your stomach,

In the tightness in your chest,

The way you tried to be extra good or extra helpful,

Extra careful,

Hoping things would feel lighter for everyone.

Imagine yourself sitting in a circle that includes you as you are today,

Across from the child you once were,

Connecting with the family you grew up in,

Seated at a gentle distance.

Imagine being able to say,

To those I love,

I see the hurts you carried.

I see the anger that had nowhere safe to go.

I see the sadness that held on.

Some of it settled in me.

As you take a slow breath,

And on the exhale,

Imagine a soft white light forming around your body,

A clear outline that says,

This is me,

And that is you.

That was yours,

And I'm separating your hurts and your truths from me.

Let that boundary stay clear for a few breaths.

This is me.

That is you.

What is mine stays with me.

What is yours can return to you.

You might imagine holding a small bundle in your hands.

Inside are the emotions you picked up to keep the peace,

The extra responsibility you carried so others would not fall apart,

The sadness you may have absorbed so no one had to feel alone.

Notice how it feels to hold this bundle.

Acknowledge the weight of it within your heart,

Connecting with the truth,

And imagine yourself being able to express,

With respect and love,

I give this back to its source.

This was never mine to solve or to carry.

This does not need to move forward through me.

You might imagine placing that bundle gently in front of the family members it belongs to,

Or offering it to those who've already passed,

Where it's no longer a heavy weight to carry,

A place that can hold what was too much for one person.

Take a deeper breath in,

And on your next exhale,

Notice any small release in your body.

Does your jaw soften?

Do your shoulders settle?

Does your belly loosen what it's been holding?

Your heart needs space for what truly belongs to you.

If you notice any emotions rising,

Know that it's safe to feel.

You might feel tenderness,

Or relief,

Or grief for what you missed,

Maybe even anger that no one protected you in the ways you needed.

All of it is welcome here.

Let your breath move through your chest.

There is room for what I feel.

I do not need to hide from myself.

Now imagine that soft white light around you becoming a little stronger,

Feeling that it holds you,

That it protects you,

That you can care about your family and let what belongs to them remain with them.

You can understand where they came from and still choose something different for yourself.

You can keep your own center.

Breathe that in.

With your next inhale,

Draw your attention back into your own body,

Feeling the weight of your own spine,

Your back body supported.

And on the next exhale,

Let the image of the circle fade into the background.

You do not lose the love.

You simply come home to yourself.

What is not mine can return to where it belongs.

What is mine I meet with kindness.

Letting each exhale be a small release,

A soft reset for your nervous system.

Then,

When you're ready,

Notice how you feel now.

You've taken an important step in listening to your body and you're putting down with intention what was never yours to carry.

Know that you can return to this practice whenever you notice old emotion rising that feels too heavy,

Confusing,

Or triggering.

That this can be a place of refuge when stress rises.

Each time you do,

You strengthen a new pattern,

A pattern where you stay with yourself,

Where your body is heard,

Where you move through life with a little more clarity,

Feeling surrounded by the awareness of what belongs to you and what belongs to the other supporting your relationships,

Supporting yourself,

Taking everything you've explored in this meditation deeper with you into that place of rest so that it's available to you in moments when you need it most.