A Mindfulness Practice for Calming Your
Anxious, Talkative Mind and Embracing Your Emotions
Sometimes, the harder you try to rid yourself of unpleasant emotions, the stronger they become. Befriending and embracing your upset feelings can often disarm them and promote peace of mind. Here is a calming exercise to practice for yourself:
1) When feeling upset – from anger, fear or worry – identify the distressing emotion and set an intention to work with it differently.
2) Inhale and exhale mindfully for several breath cycles until you feel more steady and focused.
3) Notice where the emotion is giving rise to bodily sensations. What do these sensations feel like? Oscillate from thinking about the feeling to feeling it. Observe these bodily sensations without judgment. Feel what it’s like to live inside of your body.
4) Allow the sensations to be as they are, letting yourself soften and open. Widen your focus and notice other sensations nearby.
5) Take note of any angry thoughts or judgments against yourself or the emotion; don’t feed or fight them. Let them come and go without reacting to these thoughts. We are not our thoughts, although we are in the habit of identifying with them!
6) Rest in your feelings of inner spaciousness and wholeness. You are strong and steady.
7) Remember that the root of emotion is about motion, to feel your feeling is about moving through the feeling. It won’t overtake you. Everything is temporary and ever-changing.
Created by:
Lisa M. Templeton, Ph.D.
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Owner of The Interpersonal Healing Clinic
O: 303-514-4058
F: 303-482-1331