Tension and Release Practice

Welcome, and thank you for joining me for this short visualization meditation practice. Along with some writing prompts on this idea of holding on and letting go of seeing if we can release the gripping of something in our lives a little bit. So if you would, please find a comfortable seated position And just take a moment to land. Gonna let your hands rest on your knees. Maybe bring your palms to face up so the back of the hands to the knees.

If it feels safe, let your eyes soften and close, allowing the gaze to shift to the internal space. And just begin to notice the natural rhythm of your breath. That receiving quality of the inhale, and that releasing that letting go quality the exhale. As you exhale, maybe you let your shoulders soften just a bit. So that you have this rooted connection with the earth.

And take a moment here to bring something to mind that you might be holding onto, that you may feel the need to release the grip just a little bit. And maybe that's something where you're trying to control the outcome or a thought pattern, a habit, really anything, big or small, something that you feel like maybe you're holding on to a little too tightly. Bring that into the mind to begin with. And once you identify what that is, see if you can allow that thought to drop into the body. So maybe it's a sensation or Perhaps even a gripping feeling somewhere in the body where you might be holding tension or discomfort I mean, the heart space, the belly, back.

See if you could identify the sensation of this gripping quality, where that lives in the body. And then can you allow your breath to fill that space. So sending the breath to whatever sensation is coming up for you. So, for example, if I'm maybe gripping in the heart space, Can I allow the breath to fill that space, feeling the expansion as I breathe into the heart center? And that letting go quality of the exhale.

Then lastly, take both of your hands into a fist. So you really can't help but feel that grasping is if you were holding on to something really tightly. So if your hands are in fist, you're kinda creating that tension. Allow a big full breath in holding the breath, holding on gripping a little bit tighter. And then as you exhale, can you softly release that grip. Let the palms of the hands just gently open feel the sensation, perhaps any tingling as you soften through the palms of your hands.

Perhaps there's that feeling of gently releasing of letting go. And stay with this as long as you'd like. And if you'd like to write on this a little bit, You might grab a journal and a pen, and perhaps the prompt is what is your relationship between these qualities of holding on and letting go. And where might you be holding the grip or that grasp a little too tight, what would it mean to release that to let that go just a little bit more? And my suggestion, if you're writing on this, would be to set a timer, maybe for 5 minutes, and just take your pen to the paper without too much thought or needing it to be any certain way.

Can you just let your pen flow as you write to these prompts. And then let us know how that goes. Maybe you share a line or 2 or a feeling and the comments. I'd love to hear from you. Just let me know how this how this goes for you.

Thank you.