This is a 12 minute practice and it's a bit different from most of what I do.
We're using the breath to support something called loving kindness.
Nose only,
In for five seconds,
Out for five.
That's about six breaths a minute where your heart rate and breathing fall into step with each other.
Nothing forced,
Light and quiet.
Four stages,
Yourself,
Someone you love,
Someone you barely know and someone you find difficult.
The last one is the hardest and it's where the most change happens.
One thing before we start,
Choose someone mildly irritating for that fourth stage rather than someone who's genuinely hurt you.
This should be uncomfortable,
Not distressing.
Let's settle the breath.
In the nose for five and out for five.
Keep that going and I'll come back to you.
Here is for someone you love.
Still 5 in and 5 out.
Now bring someone to mind that you love easily.
A partner,
A child,
A friend,
A parent.
Someone where the warmth is already there.
See them clearly if you can.
May you be well.
May you be at ease.
May you be free from struggle.
Section one yourself stay with the breath Now bring your attention to yourself.
Not an image,
Just a sense of being here.
And silently,
At your own pace,
Offer these words,
May I be well,
May I be at ease.
May I be free from struggle.
Let them land on the exile if that helps.
Nothing much arrives,
That's fine.
Don't chase it.
Come back to the breath and offer the words again in your mind.
Section two,
Someone you love.
Still 5 in,
5 out.
Now bring someone to mind you love easily.
A partner,
A child,
A friend,
A parent.
Someone where the warmth is already there.
See them clearly if you can.
May you be well.
May you be at ease.
May you be free from struggle.
This stage is usually the easiest.
Notice what it feels like in your body because that's the feeling we're going to carry forward.
Section three,
Someone neutral.
Keep breathing.
Now someone you neither like nor dislike.
Someone you'd recognize but don't really know.
The person at the servo,
A neighbor you nod to.
Someone from work you've never spoken to properly.
Someone who's life is at stake.
Never once thought of it.
May you be well.
May you be at ease.
May you be free from struggle.
This one takes more of it.
There's no existing feeling to draw on.
So you're generating it from nothing.
That's the point.
Section 4.
Someone Difficult.
Last stage.
Bring to mind someone who irritates you,
Someone you've had a difficult exchange with,
Someone who gets under your skin.
Start with mild,
Not the worst person you can think of,
And notice what happens in your body as you bring them to mind.
Your breathing probably just changed then.
So come back to it first.
Five in,
Five out.
Then when you're ready,
Steady,
Offer the same words.
May you be well.
May you be at ease.
May you be free from struggle.
You don't have to mean it yet.
You just have to say it and keep breathing.
Every time you feel yourself tighten,
Return to the breath.
The breath is what makes this possible.
Let the words go now.
Just a breath.
Five in,
Five out.
Notice how you feel compared to 12 minutes ago.
The fourth stage is the one that does the most work.
Extending a warmth towards someone who triggers a stress response asks for more of your nervous system than anything else in the practice.
And the system that works hardest is the one that changes fastest.
Davison's group also found something else worth knowing.
People with greater left prefrontal activity showed a stronger immune response.
This isn't only about how you feel,
It shows up physically.
Do this daily for a couple of weeks and it starts to shift.
Whenever you're ready.
Open your eyes.
I'm Ross Pollard,
Former paramedic.
24 years,
12 of them on the helicopter.
Oxygen Advantage Advanced Instructor.
Thanks for practicing with me.
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