Life is extremely stressful; big feelings like aggression, despair, and anxiety can wreak havoc on our minds, bodies, and daily life. Practicing different types of grounding and meditation can help balance our emotions so that we can create beautiful days. I’ve developed this meditation to help us deal with the overwhelming emotions that are difficult to manage. This exercise is preventative, and should be practiced for each of the emotions that overwhelm, in order to manage them when they rear their ugly heads.
I want you to picture yourself on a beach. You have a large beach blanket, the kind that sand doesn’t stick to, and the weather is perfect. You aren’t too hot or too cold. You are facing the water, watching the waves swell and dissipate.
You see the trough (the low part of the wave) before the rise and you identify what usually sets off your emotion.
You watch as the amplitude (the rise of the wave) begins and you identify your actions that fuel the triggered emotion.
You see the crest of the wave and you understand how the emotion transforms your face and body.
As the amplitude descends (the wave is falling), you plan the action to deescalate the emotion, stating aloud each step in a soft gentle voice.
You see the wave as it melts to trough, so you take a deep breath, hold it for 4 seconds, and then you let it out slowly. You are no longer held captive to that emotion. You feel in balance because you are aware and have a plan.
“We have to learn to build safety with our in-breath and our out-breath. We have to learn to build safety with our steps, with our way of acting and reacting, with our words and our efforts to build communication.” – Thich Nhat Hanh