ACT · Baseer Maroof, LCSW
Make Room
Something hard is sitting in your body. Give it space instead of a fight.
An ACT acceptance practice, sometimes called expansion. The wording here is original.
1 · The feeling
What’s here?
2 · Where
Where do you feel it?
Tap the spot on the body, or pick one below.
3 · What it’s like
If it had a shape…
Size
Shape
Color
Weight
Temperature
Breathing space around it
Room for it
You can let it be there without liking it, and without wanting it.
It may shift, shrink, or stay just as it is. Either way, it doesn’t have to run the next hour. Notice what you want to do next, with it along.
Why this works
Fighting a feeling in the body (bracing, clenching, trying to make it go away) tends to tighten it. In ACT, making room, or expansion, means noticing the sensation with curiosity, breathing into and around it, and letting it take up the space it takes up.
The goal isn’t to feel better on command. It’s to feel what’s there with less struggle, so you can get on with what matters.
If a body sensation is new, sharp or alarming, get it checked by a doctor.