Challenges

This copyrighted information is courtesy of Mindful.org
How To
Please find a comfortable position, sitting or lying down. Close your eyes and take three relaxing breaths.
Place your hand over your heart, or another soothing place, for a few moments to remind yourself that you are in the room and that you, too, are worthy of kindness. Allowing yourself to settle into whatever posture you have chosen for your body, and to take a few slow, deep mindful breaths to settle the mind and body.
And as your breath returns to a regular rate and rhythm, allow yourself to be soothed and comforted by the flow of breathing without having to breathe in any particular way. Simply allowing your breath to breathe itself. As you are ready, beginning to expand awareness to the entire body. Your body, sitting here, breathing. Allow your attention to lightly sweep your body from head to toe, and take note of whatever you notice is present. Coolness or warmth, tingling, numbness, tension, or even discomfort or pain.
If you are aware of the presence of pain or difficulty in your body, see if you can make a little space for it in your awareness with a little kindness, almost as if you were comforting a small child or beloved pet in pain. See if you can hold the area of difficulty in your awareness and notice what emotions might also be rising at this moment. If so, maybe seeing if a label for the emotions may come up — a name. For example, anger. Sadness. Grief. Confusion. Fear. Despair. If you’re unsure what emotion you are feeling, that’s OK for now. Simply experiencing the emotion is enough. And if you are having many emotions, seeing if you can name the strongest emotion associated with a situation. Now repeating the name of the emotion to yourself in a tender, understanding voice, as if you were validating for a friend what they were feeling: “That’s longing.” “That’s grief.”
Returning your attention to the area of your body where you are most aware of your pain or discomfort, see if you can just feel the general sense of discomfort. Now begin softening into that location of your body, letting the muscles soften, letting them relax as if in warm water. Softening. Softening. Softening.
More From Staying Sharp
Your Brain on Awe
Moments of wonder may help you feel more connected to the worldTame Your Inner Tyrant
A positive outlook starts within
Embracing Emotions
Focus on becoming more mindful of your emotions