instructions

This technique can help you deal with the experience of anger:

• First, sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed and notice the places where your body is touching the floor, cushion, or chair;

• Draw in a few deep breaths, completely filling up your lungs and quickly exhaling;

• Think back to a time that you recently experienced anger, preferably a mild or quickly addressed episode. Allow yourself to experience the anger you felt in that moment;

• Disregard any other feelings that come up with this memory, like guilt or sadness;

• Turn your attention to how you are experiencing anger in your body. Notice whether any parts of your body are manifesting your anger with sensations like warmth or cold, the intensity of these reactions and whether they change as you observe them or move through your body;

• Bring compassion to the anger. This can be a difficult step, but remind yourself that anger is a natural human emotion that affects us all at one point or another. Try to hold your anger “like a mother cradling a newborn,” with love and understanding;

• Say goodbye to your anger. Gradually bring your attention back to your breath and rest here for a while until your emotions have subsided or settled down;

• Reflect on the experience. Notice the sensations that this exercise brought up in your body. Notice if they changed through the process. Take note of whether you applied compassion to your anger, and if so, how you did it. Think about what happened to the anger when you showed it compassion.This exercise can be repeated as many times as necessary. It is recommended to work your way up from milder experiences of anger to the most intense and memorable episodes;

• Practicing this technique can help you to defuse chronic anger in a rather counterintuitive manner: by accepting and mindfully feeling your anger, you can take control of the experience and compassionately address it.