Embodied Compassion for Difficult Emotions

If you’re overwhelmed and feeling the urge to withstand or repress painful, complicated, or distressing feelings, use this meditation from restoration coach Emily Jane to observe staying current with braveness and compassion.

One of many core rules of mindfulness observe that may be a problem for folks is the notion that it truly makes extra sense to simply accept our feelings fairly than resist them. Particularly in terms of painful, complicated, or scary feelings, this transfer in the direction of ourselves in compassion can really feel extremely counterintuitive. 

This week, creator and restoration coach Emily Jane guides us by means of a observe you should use anytime you want assist bringing curiosity, braveness, and compassion to tough experiences.

Embodied Compassion for Troublesome Feelings

You’ll be able to learn and observe the guided meditation script under, pausing after every paragraph. Or, hearken to the audio observe.

 After we expertise difficult emotions, our pure tendency is to repress or resist them, and but it’s usually this very resistance that creates much more stress and struggling. On this meditation, we’ll start to softly shift our relationship by creating house for our uncomfortable feelings. We’ll invite them in and sit with them with compassion, like an previous buddy.

We’ll begin the meditation with some conscious consciousness, then flip in the direction of the feelings, sensations, and components of ourselves that we would often keep away from or want we didn’t must really feel. 

1. Start by discovering a place that feels comfy, both sitting in a chair, in your mattress or the ground, or mendacity down. If you’re prepared, you possibly can shut your eyes or decrease your gaze. Permit your shoulders to loosen up down, your jaw to melt, possibly opening and shutting the jaw a few instances, creating just a little motion and welcoming some launch. Let all of the little muscular tissues across the eyes, the brow, the cheeks to melt as greatest they will. 
2. Now deliver consciousness to the floor beneath you. Really feel into that assist, the way it holds you. In case your ft are touching the ground, really feel into that connection between your ft and the bottom, feeling into the assist that’s already right here.
3. Discover the temperature of your physique and of the temperature of the air round you. Discover the load of your physique and the mild pull of gravity holding you.
4. Now deliver your consciousness to the pure rhythm of your breath. Observe the pathway of the breath by means of the physique. Noticing the way it enters the physique, the place the breath lands within the physique—maybe the chest, the stomach, the ribs. And spot the way it leaves the physique. Simply take a second to really feel one full breath from starting to finish, after which the following.
5. Now take a barely deeper inhale by means of the nostril, permit the breath to stream down into the stomach after which exhale with a sigh. And once more, inhaling by means of the nostril and exhaling slowly with a sigh.
6. Now deliver consciousness to your physique as an entire. Discover what it feels wish to be you on this second, on this physique. See when you can strategy your expertise with curiosity and a way of compassion.
7. Develop into conscious of any sensations, noting any feelings which can be current or areas of pressure, discomfort, or heaviness. No matter is right here, see when you can simply permit it to be right here and simply gently make house for it.
8. Now, turn into conscious of that a part of you that’s conscious. The a part of you conscious of the breath, the physique, the sensations and feelings. See when you can lean into the attention itself, this observing presence, and see its qualities. Maybe there’s calm right here, a stillness, or a way of peace and compassion.
9. Relaxation for a second on this compassionate consciousness. If it feels supportive, place one hand in your coronary heart. Really feel the heat of your arms, the mild stress, simply providing the physique care and assist.
10. Now call to mind a tough emotion, reminiscence, or state of affairs. Nothing too intense, simply one thing you’ve been discovering a bit difficult. Maybe one thing that’s been worrying you recently, an interplay that’s upset or aggravated you, or only a feeling that you just’ve been carrying.
11. As you deliver this to thoughts, discover what occurs in your physique. Perhaps sensations start to emerge, restlessness, tightness, heaviness, or a sinking feeling. Perhaps you discover an emotion. Simply really feel into no matter arises and identify the emotion. Describe any sensations. 
12. See when you can merely observe the feeling, simply being a compassionate witness to the discomfort or ache and permitting the expertise to be right here with out instantly pushing it away. Bear in mind: you don’t must faux it’s all okay, and also you don’t have to love it. However see when you can welcome it, making house for it, letting it’s precisely as it’s. And if this feels difficult, that’s okay. It’s in our human nature to withstand discomfort, so if there’s resistance, simply discover that too with out judgment. 
13. As you sit with this emotion or sensation, discover that there’s house round it. Area contained in the physique, house across the physique. The assist beneath you remains to be there. The breath remains to be shifting, and this emotion, this sensation, is just one a part of your expertise. It’s part of you, but it surely’s not all of you.
14. Now simply transfer just a little nearer in the direction of the emotion and gently place your hand over the realm the place you’re feeling the emotion or sensation most strongly. By your hand provide these phrases, “I see you. I’m right here with you. I give you house, compassion, and love.” Discover what occurs if you say these phrases. Perhaps this a part of you responds to the phrases. Perhaps you expertise much less resistance in the direction of it. Maybe there’s a softening otherwise you even discover peace within the discomfort or ache. Maybe nothing adjustments in any respect. No matter occurs is okay. There’s no proper method to expertise this. 
15. Simply spend a couple of extra moments being with this emotion, with this sensation. Then return your consciousness to the breath, and as you inhale, think about respiration compassion into the physique. Let it stream into the middle of the emotion, and as you exhale, permit it to develop into the house round you. Inhaling compassion, respiration out compassion. And as you breathe, permit this emotion to combine into the fullness of your being. 
16. Now start to sense the physique as an entire. The assist beneath you, the bottom holding you, feeling the assist of gravity. Remind your self gently with these phrases, “I could be with tough feelings once I create a compassionate house for them.”
17. Now gently deliver your consciousness again to the house round you. Discover any sounds within the room, the temperature of the air. Invite some mild motion into the physique. Perhaps a delicate sway or gently simply shaking the arms. Take one ultimate deep breath into the stomach and exhale totally. If you’re prepared, you possibly can open your eyes, returning in your individual time.