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Hello hello, this is Sabrina Amina and I'm the host of the feelings pod.

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This is a podcast where I share some thoughts about feelings and a brief mindfulness practice

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at the end of every episode.

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Thank you for tuning in, thank you for listening.

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Today's episode is about vulnerability.

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When I choose topics for these episodes, I tend to choose something that's been present

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and vulnerability has certainly been coming up for me over the last couple of weeks.

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I always like to think that I'm really good at being vulnerable.

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But in most recent weeks I've been noticing where my limits are when it comes to vulnerability.

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I love vulnerability until I don't until it becomes too deep and too scary and too exposing.

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And then I want to retreat from it.

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Vulnerability feels expansive and in the right company, even if that company is your own,

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witnessing the depth of your vulnerability will teach you something.

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But I think the best way to explore vulnerability is in relationship, noticing where your edge

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is when it comes to sharing the deepest, truest parts of yourself.

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Sometimes I'm able to share, actually I think I do a really good job sharing authentically

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with my students.

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That's one realm where I feel there's a certain level of vulnerability.

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Sometimes just being your true authentic self and being very real about who you are, where you are,

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how you're feeling, what's present for you.

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Being radically honest about that can be quite vulnerable.

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And I think vulnerability requires being honest with ourselves first and foremost

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and being able to tune in to our own truths and being fully accepting of our own truths

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before we can feel safe enough to share it with others.

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And let's face it, we've all been in situations where we've been vulnerable

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and that vulnerability was not either not well received or in the worst cases,

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your vulnerability can be used against you, right?

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So there's definitely risk involved in vulnerability, but like with all risks,

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there's an opportunity for great gains when you're able to explore the depths of your vulnerability

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and ability to be witnessed.

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And if you're a person who can lovingly hold space for another human's vulnerability,

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that's quite a profound gift.

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Sometimes folks get uncomfortable witnessing real raw truth.

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And sometimes those real raw truths rub up against our own that we've not been ready or willing to face.

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So in the past couple of weeks I've noticed myself opening up and being vulnerable in new ways in relationship

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and that's felt very exciting but also terrifying at times.

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And for those of us that tend to think that we're too much, our feelings are too much,

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our ways of expressing ourselves are too much,

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it's easy to set a limit to how vulnerable you can be.

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But the more I delve into my practice of self-love and self-compassion and self-care,

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the more I'm able to lovingly hold space for my whole human experience with presence.

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The braver I become about being vulnerable with others, others that feel safe

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and the best relationships are the ones where you can be vulnerable and share your whole truth.

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And the relationships that are most difficult are the ones where you have to hide your truth or be different than who you are.

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Those relationships are generally not very sustainable without costing you a great deal of anguish and pain and suffering and loneliness.

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I think to some degree we all have had the experience of needing to hide parts of ourselves.

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Even in the relationships where ideally it would be safe to be ourselves.

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So the question I ask myself now in relationship is,

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does this feel like a space where I feel fully expressed?

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Does this feel like a space where it's safe to explore the depths of vulnerability?

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Am I surrounding myself with the kind of humans who have the capacity to see me in my truth?

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And when the answer is no, I know a change needs to be made and those changes can be really difficult.

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So my invitation for you this week is to notice the spaces, notice the people, notice the circumstances where you can let down your guard and take off the mask.

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Notice the places where you don't feel a need to perform.

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And create more space for those relationships.

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Create more time for those spaces.

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I encourage you to find ways to limit your time in spaces where you don't feel you can be yourself.

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And if you have difficulty thinking of spaces where it does feel safe to feel vulnerable,

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perhaps there are ways that you can create safe spaces for yourself.

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Create rituals around being your own loving witness to your truth.

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And perhaps your full expression won't be in conversation, but maybe it's expressed through writing or art or music.

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Yeah.

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Let's get into our practice today.

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Find a comfortable seat and just gently close the eyes.

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Begin to tune into your breath, noticing your inhale, noticing your exhale.

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Allowing the breath to soften any tension in the body.

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And as you do a brief scan of your body from head to toe, notice the spaces that feel tense that could benefit from an intentional breath.

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And as we breathe in, imagine sending that breath to the spaces that feel tight and constricted.

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Take a deep breath in.

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And let it go.

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And notice the expansion as you exhale. Notice the spaciousness as you invite the breath in.

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Inhale.

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And exhale.

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And just follow the breath with ease.

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And be intentional, but not overly controlling.

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Find comfort and a steady pace that feels good in your body.

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Take a deep breath in.

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And exhale.

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And once again, breathe in and exhale.

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And bring to mind a moment of joy, a moment of feeling content or ease.

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Bring to mind an emotion that feels expansive.

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Take a deep breath in.

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And let it go.

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And as you bring to mind this expansive emotion, see if you can feel into where that lives in the body.

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And perhaps joy lives in the heart space.

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Wherever that expansive feeling lives in the body, let's breathe into it.

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Take a deep breath in.

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And exhale.

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And as you breathe in and out, imagine using the breath to create more space for the expansive feeling.

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Take a deep breath in.

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And let it go.

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Inhale.

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And exhale.

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And as we close the practice, just allow yourself to bask in this moment of stillness.

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Allow yourself to bask in the golden silence of this moment.

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And as you continue throughout the day,

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perhaps you could set an intention to carry this feeling of expansiveness with you.

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Notice the spaces that you could live more joyfully, more fully, more expansively.

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And we'll close the practice with one more deep breath in.

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Let it go.

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And when you feel ready, allow the eyes to float or open.

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Thank you so much for practicing with me today.

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I hope you have a great week.