Sometimes an unpleasant encounter with a person or situation sticks in your craw. You just can’t let it go, even when it’s in the past and you know that it’s only causing you indigestion to keep dwelling on it. If you’re predisposed to OCD, perhaps you repeat the episode over and over, feeling annoyance or anger each time. Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön calls this shenpa — this sticky feeling that doesn’t want to go away.
Well, here’s a quick way to let stuff go:
- Sit up straight with your eyes closed.
- Take a few deep, slow, complete breaths. Let the air fill you from your lower abdomen to your chest, hold for a few seconds and release.
- Locate the area of your body that the shenpa is manifesting. For me, it’s usually my heart: the annoying neighbor sounds? A tightening sensation in my heart. The coworker ordering me around? A tightening sensation in my heart. For you, it may be different. In fact, it may be different each time: You may feel it in your shoulders, the pit of your stomach …
- Focus on that physical body sensation as you take slow, deep breaths.
- Continue for five or ten minutes until you feel relaxed, until the sensation has dissipated, until you have breathed through it.
That’s it! Amazingly simple. No brain work required. Remember, you are helping yourself feel better, not trying to change the past. But I will share a secret. Sometimes, the problem situation itself will improve when you are no longer obsessing or putting negative energy into it.
