This meditation practice helps us learn to be with our stress, anxiety or pain. Rather than trying to avoid it, or get overwhelmed by our feelings, meditation practice helps us ‘be with’ what we are experiencing.
When we practice ‘being with’ our struggles, kindly, we loosen the grip on them.
And it loosens our grip on us. Try this:
Start by bringing attention to some sensation in the body
– perhaps the breath or some tension or tingling.
Continue gently returning your attention to this place for a few minutes.
Next, see if you can locate some stress within the body.
Just notice how it feels.
If you can’t find any stress
generate a thought or an image to help conjure it up.
generate a thought or an image to help conjure it up.
We want to get the stress going strongly enough
to be able to practice feeling it,
but not to be overwhelming.
to be able to practice feeling it,
but not to be overwhelming.
Once you’ve got some stress going,
just breathe, and feel it.
just breathe, and feel it.
Notice how it feels throughout the body.
Greet it like an old friend,
Greet it like an old friend,
“Oh I know you, you’re my old pal fear.
You’ve visited me on so many occasions.
Welcome back.”
You’ve visited me on so many occasions.
Welcome back.”
Keep breathing, and keep practicing
just welcoming and feeling the stress.
just welcoming and feeling the stress.
If the sensation of stress starts to fade,
do whatever you need to do to bring it back.
do whatever you need to do to bring it back.
Keep breathing, and keep practicing
just welcoming and feeling the stress.
just welcoming and feeling the stress.
Learning to simply be with stress or angst
allows it to come and go.
Today I will practice breathing with my stress
learning to be with it, kindly
allowing it to come and go
like an old friend
