I originally made the "cheat sheet" above for managing thoughts and emotions during meditation, but afterwards, I realized that these tips might come in handy whenever the mind starts to ruminate on negative/unproductive thoughts or when emotions take over and we need a way to help process them.
Navigating Thoughts
During meditation, it's very normal that thoughts arise in the mind. This does NOT mean that you are bad at meditating, it means that you are human. And speaking of being human, most of us respond better to gentle suggestion than to someone (even ourselves!) telling us NOT to do something. Therefore, it's usually more effective to have ideas to re-direct the mind towards when thoughts arise, rather than expecting ourselves not to have any thoughts at all.
Set yourself up for success in your meditation by not expecting to be completely free from thoughts. Instead, as soon as you notice you are thinking, simply use that as a cue to bring your awareness back to the breath. It's a really big victory to realize that you are thinking during meditation, because as soon as you realize that you are no longer present - boom(!) - you become present. It's all about awareness and it takes practice (and some days are better than others, even for those who have been meditating for years).
Imagine that thoughts are like clouds passing in the sky. This helps us become an objective observer of our thoughts and just allow them to pass by without forcefully trying to shove them away. I like this visualization because it's gentle. It's ok that the thoughts come in, we just become willing to let them pass on through. No drama, no force, no judgement, we just let them go.
Most of us have a long to-do list and it's very common for those things to also pop into our consciousness when we sit for meditation. I like to gently remind myself that I will have the rest of the day to think about those things AFTER my meditation and then proceed to guide myself back into the present moment.
Navigating Emotions
Sometimes when we finally get a chance to get quiet with ourselves and meditate`, emotions arise. The day-to-day can be so busy and perhaps you are someone who often takes care of others so your own emotions get put on the "back-burner". If you are a caretaker, I bet you've either said out loud or at least had this thought: I don't even have TIME to feel my feelings. Because of this, it's not uncommon that when you do finally get a chance to sit or lay down, you may feel some things. This is okay!
With the suggestions on how to navigate feelings during meditation, I'm still going to gently guide you towards your breath and your physical body instead of your mind. Emotion is energy in motion and when feelings come up, we give them space to be expressed so that they can come up and pass through you. This is healthy. I want to give you permission to let the workings of the mind go just for the time that you are in meditation. You don't have to figure out WHY you are feeling this way, at least not for now.
Instead of creating a story or reasoning around the emotion, I invite you to locate in the body where you are feeling the emotion. Are you feeling anxiety in your heart center or belly? Do you experience sadness as a tightness in your throat? Anger in your head or face? Just notice where you are feeling the emotion and give it lots of space by breathing deeply. Make this part of your meditation. Feel and breathe through your emotion. Soften the body as much as you can and just keep your awareness on the physical sensation. If your mind tries to take over, simply bring it back to your breath and any sensation in your body. You may notice that this energy shifts, moves, changes and even dissipates over the course of a few moments.
I like to think of this practice as a cleansing. Emotion comes up to be expressed, this is part of being human. Sometimes I complicate this process with my mind, but if I follow these steps when feelings arise, I feel much lighter afterwards.
I hope these suggestions help! Please feel free to comment with any questions.
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