Meditation on Moving Past Triggers and Embracing Resilience

Begin by finding a comfortable position, allowing your body to relax. Close your eyes softly, and take a deep breath in through your nose. As you exhale, let go of any tension in your shoulders, neck, face and jaw. Bring your somatic awareness, that is the awareness of the internal perspective of your body and notice how you're feeling. Scan your body from head to toe and notice which areas of your body you may be holding onto. Areas that feel tight and restricted and allow these areas to soften. Breathe in again, and this time, exhale any worries or thoughts you may be holding onto. Allow yourself to be fully here, present in this moment.

As we begin, let’s set a gentle intention: to explore our triggers from a place of calm awareness. Remember, triggers are simply emotional responses, often to memories or beliefs stored within us. They do not define who we are; they are only transient experiences moving through us.

Take a moment to bring your attention to any recent experience or thought that triggered an uncomfortable emotion. As you recall this, resist any urge to analyse or judge yourself for feeling it. Simply observe it, as if you’re watching a scene in a movie.

Allow yourself to notice: where do you feel this reaction in your body? Is there tension, warmth, or tightness in a particular place? Is it in your chest, your stomach, or perhaps in your throat? Let’s be curious and gentle as we approach it, without resistance.

Now, let’s start to breathe deeply into this area, sending calm, spacious breaths to wherever you feel the sensation. As you breathe in, visualise your breath softening and expanding around this sensation. And as you exhale, allow yourself to release any tension, imagining it loosening and dissolving with each breath.

Remind yourself: This feeling is not me; it is only a visitor, a temporary state. Inhaling deeply, remind yourself that this experience will pass, and that it only lingers if we hold onto it, give it our energy, or allow it to become part of our story.

Let’s take a moment to observe this feeling as separate from ourselves. Imagine standing at a distance from it, observing it without judgement. You might say to yourself, “This is only a feeling I’m experiencing right now. It is a momentary wave within the vast ocean of my awareness.”

When we detach from identification, we see triggers as passing events, like clouds moving across the sky. Just as clouds come and go, these emotional reactions are temporary. They only remain if we hold them tight, replaying them or identifying with them as our own.

Each time you inhale, feel a greater sense of spaciousness in your body, creating more room to hold these sensations lightly. Each exhale releases any attachment, like releasing a balloon into the sky.

Now, let’s bring attention to the self-talk and beliefs that may accompany these triggers. Often, they bring thoughts like, “I’m not enough,” or “This always happens to me.” Recognize these thoughts as stories, habitual narratives that have repeated in your mind.

Observe these thoughts with openness, and remind yourself that they are not facts. These thoughts, however convincing, are simply products of past conditioning, and they are not true reflections of your potential or your worth.

Let’s take a moment to reframe them. Imagine replacing “I’m not enough” with “I am capable and whole just as I am.” Repeat this silently, choosing to replace unhelpful beliefs with words that uplift you.

As we breathe, let’s turn our focus to the heart. Gently bring your awareness to this area, and if it feels right, place your hand over your heart. Feel the warmth, the energy that radiates here.

Imagine your heart opening gently, like a flower. Breathe in the energy of kindness, compassion, and positivity. Each inhale fills your heart with a feeling of lightness, love, and acceptance. Each exhale lets go of any resistance or negativity.

Let’s take a moment to allow gratitude to fill the heart. Think of something in your life, however small, that brings you a sense of joy or comfort. Visualise this feeling, letting it expand within you. Remind yourself that there is positivity in every experience, even in challenges. When we approach life with an open heart, we can always find some light within each situation.

Finally, let’s remind ourselves that it’s okay to take time with our triggers. Moving past them is not a matter of rushing or forcing; it’s about allowing space to be with them, understand them, and release them in our own time.

Each time you encounter a challenging moment, remember: you can pause, breathe, and create space to observe it with kindness. You can give yourself room to see beyond the trigger, to remember that you are not defined by it. Allow yourself to acknowledge it and then let it go, like watching a wave recede back into the ocean.

As we close, take a final deep breath, filling your body with a sense of peace and openness. When you exhale, release any last bits of tension or attachment.

Remind yourself that you carry this sense of calm and space within you, available whenever you need it. You have the power to pause, to observe, to choose how to respond to any experience that arises.

When you’re ready, slowly bring your awareness back to the room. Wiggle your fingers and toes, feel the surface you’re resting on, and when you’re ready, gently open your eyes.

Take a moment to honour yourself for practising this awareness. Thank yourself for showing up with patience, presence, and a heart open to growth.