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Soften and Allow

4 Min
Meditation
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Jiva Masheder
Mindfulness & Self-Compassion Teacher
Life is difficult sometimes....and our usual response to difficulty is to brace against it and try to make it go away. The thing is, when it's our own emotions that are difficult, that just creates more tension. So if we can soften internally and allow ourselves to feel what we're feeling, we reduce that internal conflict.
From the community
11 reflections
D
Debb
Softening
I will use this meditation again! I focused my attention on my neck and shoulder muscles which are always typically tight, feeling as if my shoulders are drawn up to my ears. I wasnโ€™t completely convinced of the value of this meditation at the beginning but by the time the meditation got to the โ€œallowingโ€ segment my neck and shoulder muscles completely relaxed and I was rolling my head all over. It felt wonderful! If you are feeling tension in your body you might want to give this a try. ๐Ÿ’ซ
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Kathy
Mind Over Matter
Thank you for this recommendation, Debb! As I have so much stress and pain from my celiac disease, this was really helpful. What I found even more beneficial than any relief felt was facing the realization that my muscles are at war with my illness. Where there is pain, the muscles surrounding the pain tighten in protection but this โ€œprotectionโ€ merely creates additional pain and discomfort. In actuality, I have never considered that this is what is occurring. But that is exactly what my body is doing. It is intensifying and heightening my level of discomfort. With this new awareness comes the ability to realize that I must simply accept the fact that the pain is present. Rather than fighting it, I can concentrate my efforts on softening all the surrounding muscle and tissue. Once I do this, tension is released and the level of discomfort lessens a bit. I am very grateful for this meditation and what I have gleaned from it. I intend to listen often until I am able to focus my attention properly for the benefit of my health and wellbeing.
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Kat
Soften is so helpful a busy day
This practice has been so helpful after my day today of cleaning and rearranging my dining room/ sitting room. A needed reminder to sit and soften my tense shoulders, but allow them to stay slightly tense when I canโ€™t release all the tension. Itโ€™s not a failure on my part, I didnโ€™t choose it, something happened and that can be okay as well. So many things I need to remember from this session. I am glad for this one.
C
Cherish
Internal Struggle
Especially during difficult times, we tend to try to protect ourselves against the stress and the heavy emotions we feel. Unfortunately, doing this can add much more added stress to our mind and body. In this meditation, Jiva helps us by having us repeat the words โ€˜softeningโ€™ and โ€˜allowingโ€™. Since experiencing an abrupt loss in my life, the tension i feel in my shoulders and neck has caused a great deal of pain. Becoming aware of my breath and tuning into these tense areas of my body, I repeated the word softening. With each out breath, I could feel a small amount of the tension loosen ever so gently. Then I followed Jivaโ€™s direction to become aware of my emotions I am feeling. With each out breath, I repeated the word allowing. Honestly, I almost began to cry. Feeling and โ€˜just beingโ€™ with these emotions is certainly not easy! However, as Jiva says, these emotions are already here. What caused these emotions to be here has already happened. No matter how hard it is, we need to allow ourselves to โ€˜just beโ€™ with these emotions. The next time I find myself combating this internal struggle, I will remember these words, softening and allowing, to give myself the compassion my body, mind and soul deserve.
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Erin
Allow
Itโ€™s okay to allow stressful and anxious feelings to come because itโ€™s in our human nature. Being able to recognize stress is important, as well as relaxing our body once we go into that fight or flight mode.
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Ruby
relaxed and calm mind body and spirit together and in sync
you just need to go inward to heal your body and to find peace and calmness
M
Maria
Soften and allow
I learned that is ok to feel stressed or with anxiety, is ok. We are humans, and every human being can feel these way, the point here is to know how to connect with yourself to feel alright
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Jill
A moment of peace
During the practice I focused on where my tension was instead of trying to work around it like I do throughout the day. It felt nice to sit with it and not have to worry about pushing through. When the meditation was over I opened my eyes to my house and all the things I gave to do to get through the day. The anxiety and depression are still there but now thereโ€™s the extra task of trying to stay soft throughout the day. If only I could sit here forever.
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Vesal
Stress
Let it be! Itโ€™s okay Youโ€™re gonna be okay Donโ€™t be afraid... You didnโ€™t choose any of this, but itโ€™s there; So let it be... Soften... just soften
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Marie
Itโ€™s gonna be okay
I learned that stress will be there but, do not let it take over your mind. Practice softening your thoughts to break free.
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Gillian
Anxiety
I realized I need to stop trying so hard to push out anxiety. I canโ€™t โ€œforceโ€ it away, and I need to learn to accept that and to just feel it sometimes. The pressure we feel in our chests wonโ€™t last forever!
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