This week, to attain, maintain or regain your sense of wellbeing...
...practice making space for whatever you are feeling, rather than trying to push them away. When you experience distressing thoughts or feelings, acknowledge that it is there, then turn your attention to where you feel it in your body, observe the feeling with curiosity, take three deep breaths and imagine each breath flowing in around this feeling, opening up more space around it. Breath into it and imagine expanding around it, whatever that means to you. Notice also the way your chest and stomach literally expand with each breath, opening up a little more room inside you. Notice that no matter how big the feeling gets, it never gets bigger than you. See if you can just allow it to be there without trying to change it. If it changes of its own accord that's okay, but your aim is to simply allow it to be there. Practice saying to yourself "It's okay to feel this, I am a human being with a human heart," "I have room for this", "I can allow this feeling to be here", "I can make space for this." Take another few deep breaths, and whenever you feel ready, turn your attention towards the present moment and whatever it is you need to do right now.
Making space for our emotions, or in other words allowing them, or accepting them, is so much easier than fighting against them, arguing with them, or judging ourselves for them. Making space can help us respond to distressing experiences with more compassion and reduce how much suffering we have to go through.
Once you are comfortable with this practice, add Make Space to your Personal Coping Kete for times of stress and distress.
