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Hello hello, my name is Sabrina Mina. This is the Feelings Pod and we're on episode 3. Wow.

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Look at me go. I said I was going to start a podcast. Here I am. We're talking about feelings and mindfulness.

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So, before I get into today's episode, I just want to give you a sense of what to expect and where we're going.

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So, the winter months are upon us and the way I've imagined structuring this series, this podcast, these episodes is by going season by season.

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So, in the winter months kind of addressing these maybe heavier winter feelings, I guess.

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It's when the seasonal depression hits and the, you know, it's just the dark months.

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So, if you're wondering, oh my god, why are all these episodes about these hard feelings, that's the idea.

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As we approach the spring, we'll get into more spring-like feelings, I guess, or at least the feelings and emotions I tend to associate with the springtime.

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Love, romance, lightheartedness. I don't know, we'll see what I'm inspired by when that season comes and can't come soon enough, but we will make it through this winter.

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And then in the autumn, I don't know, we'll see where it goes. I'm excited about this project.

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Anyone who knows me knows that. I love talking about feelings.

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So, today's podcast episode is on loneliness and that's a feeling that we're all familiar with.

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It's a feeling that I've gotten more familiar with over the last year after separating from my husband.

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And that's been difficult, right?

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But the interesting thing about loneliness is that I've observed is you can feel lonely even in the company of others, and especially in the wrong company, right?

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So, loneliness is not necessarily a product of being alone. I find it's a result of being estranged from yourself and feeling far from yourself and abandoning yourself in the ways that we do.

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So, as I navigate loneliness and being alone and learning how to be a single parent, I'm just observing when I feel lonely and when that feeling is at its most kind of...

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It can feel consuming, actually. This morning, I felt called to talk about loneliness because when you wake up alone, or when I wake up alone, it's...

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Yeah, I mean, this is a hard topic to talk about because the feeling for me is so pronounced right now.

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And there's nothing wrong, right? We don't shame any of our feelings here. There's nothing wrong with the feeling of loneliness.

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It's information that we're learning from, right? So, the lesson I'm gleaning from my loneliness in this moment is really...

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How can I be with myself? With more ease? How can I be with myself?

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With more contentment and satisfaction and love and self-compassion? That's the work. And I just want to celebrate the fact that I'm way better at being with myself now than I was in my...

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When I was in my 20s and even when I was a teenager and a child.

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Although, you know, I grew up with five siblings, so when we were kids, we pretty much always had each other, which was nice.

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And I think as an adult, living alone has been really difficult for me because I...

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You know, when you grow up in a big family, there's always someone to make you laugh, there's always someone to fight with, there's always someone to watch TV with, there's always someone to argue with, you know?

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There's always some kind of activation or there's something going on. You know, when you have a house full of seven people, seven, eight people,

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you get distracted from any kind of loneliness or you don't even notice it if there is any.

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The other thing about loneliness is, as I mentioned earlier, sometimes you can be in a room full of people or be with just one person who's not quite the right person

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and feel terribly lonely because...

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Well, I'm not sure. I mean, why do you think...

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I mean, if you've felt this, if you've experienced feeling lonely in the company of others, what makes you feel lonely in those situations?

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I know what makes me feel... I wonder what the opposite of lonely... I wonder what that feeling would be called.

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But yeah, so I mean, when I'm in the company of folks who love and appreciate me and see my magic and can mirror that,

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it's a wonderful feeling. It feels like being understood, you know? And there's something so special about that.

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I think we live in a society that encourages kind of isolation and separation.

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It's hard for us to make ends meet without the daily grind of a nine to five.

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So many of us kind of operate in survival mode, like having to wake up and go to work and go to bed and wake up and do it all over again.

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And then the things that we do to take care of ourselves fall by the wayside.

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I think that's perhaps another reason why we fall into loneliness because we're not filling our cups as much as we should or need to.

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I definitely know that when I'm taking extra care of myself, when I'm taking really good care of myself, which basically means I'm eating well, I'm getting enough sleep,

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I'm journaling and doing my morning pages, I incorporate some kind of movement into my day.

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Then those are the things that make me feel full and loved and witnessed and understood by myself, right?

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Quiet time for meditation and just being with myself in nurturing ways.

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That's what eases the pangs of loneliness.

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So if loneliness is something that you're sitting with lately, I want to offer this question, what can I offer myself?

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What do I need to fill my cup?

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How can I enjoy my own company a bit more?

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What can I do to show myself a little bit more love?

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And I feel complete, I think that's all I want to say about loneliness for today, so let's just get into a brief mindfulness practice to start the day.

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And wherever you are, just let go of any distractions, find a comfortable position for your body, a position that invites ease, take a deep breath in,

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and let it go. Allow yourself to follow the breath, invite the breath into the belly, allowing the belly to expand.

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And as you exhale, notice the belly contract. Take another deep breath in, and let it go.

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And today we'll just settle into our senses.

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Just notice sensation of touch, texture, what do you feel? What do you feel in your skin?

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What's the temperature of the space that you're in right now?

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What are the sensations in the body?

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And we'll scan our head, our face, our neck and shoulders.

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Notice the heart space, take a deep breath in, let it go.

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Bring your attention to your arms, your upper arms, your forearm, your hands, the palms of your hands, your ten fingers.

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Notice the belly as it rises and falls with the breath.

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Notice the hips, your thighs, your knees, notice your calves, your shins, the ankles, the tops of your feet,

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the bottoms of your feet, your heels, your toes.

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And as we end the body scan, we'll draw a breath in from the bottoms of our feet all the way to the top of the head.

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Take a deep breath in.

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And let it go.

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And if your eyes are closed, we're going to notice the sense of sight.

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What do you see when your eyes are closed? What can you see in your mind's eye?

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Bring to mind an image that makes you feel at ease.

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Perhaps a landscape, a person, your favorite food.

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Take a deep breath in.

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Let it go and tune into the sense of smell.

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Notice anything that you smell?

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Perhaps it's a pleasant smell.

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Maybe you don't smell much of anything.

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Maybe there's a smell that's not so great.

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Just notice it.

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Notice what's being picked up by your olfactory senses.

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Take a deep breath in.

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Let it go.

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Tune into the sense of sound and hearing.

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What are the most prominent sounds in your immediate space?

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What are the sounds your ears are picking up on in this moment?

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Now listen just beyond your immediate space.

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Perhaps there are sounds outside the room that you're in.

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Listen for the farthest sound that you can hear.

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Maybe it's a sound that's miles away.

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Take a deep breath in.

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Let it go and tune into the sense of taste.

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There might not be anything you're tasting in particular in this moment.

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Bring to mind a pleasant taste, your favorite food.

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Notice of tuning into a sense of taste brings your attention to any sensations of hunger or being satiated.

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Take a deep breath in.

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Let it go.

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And as we close our practice today, offer yourself some love and gratitude for showing up and taking care of yourself in this way.

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Offering yourself some time to ponder and make space for your feelings.

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You're doing a great job. Have a beautiful day.