Welcome.
Begin by settling in to a comfortable seated position.
Feel your body supported by your chair or bed beneath you.
Feel your feet resting on the ground.
Start by taking a deep breath in and out.
Nothing to do,
Nowhere to be.
As you breathe deeply,
Feel your belly expand to welcome the breath in.
Feel it relax as the breath flows back out.
Beginning short,
Counted breath practice.
Exhaling all the air.
Breathing in 2 3 4,
Pausing at the top and out 2 3 4,
Pausing at the bottom and in 2 3 4,
Pausing at the top and out 2 3 4,
Continuing to breathe at this pace but allowing the counting to fall away.
As we begin this self-compassion practice,
I invite you to meet yourself with kindness,
Knowing that this process can be challenging and that is perfectly ok.
Creating a new pattern of relating to ourself with kindness is new for many of us.
This is a practice that may take time.
We'll start by getting in touch with our compassionate self,
By bringing to your mind's eye someone for whom you care deeply.
Allow yourself to imagine a happy expression for your loved one.
Notice a sense of warmth at your center.
Notice the sense of compassion and kindness that your loved one brings to you.
Tapping into a sense of unconditional kindness to your loved one.
You can repeat the following phrases to yourself out loud,
Silently in your mind,
Or just allow them to sit and land.
Sending these wishes of warmth and compassion to your loved one.
Let's begin.
May you be well.
May you be safe.
May you be loved.
May you be peaceful.
Taking a moment to notice how it feels to send kind wishes to your loved one.
Notice how compassion feels in the body.
Staying attuned to that sense of warmth and kindness.
Slowly expanding your loving,
Compassionate embrace to include both you and your loved one.
You can repeat the following phrases out loud,
Silently to yourself,
Or simply allow them to land and resonate.
This time sending your wishes of warmth and compassion to both you and your loved one.
Let's begin.
May we be well.
May we be safe.
May we be loved.
May we be peaceful.
Again,
Taking a moment to notice how that feels.
Noticing without judgment how it feels to include yourself in your loving embrace.
Staying attuned to the feeling of warmth and compassion.
Your loving embrace holding you both.
And now allow your compassionate embrace to encircle just yourself.
I invite you to place a hand somewhere on the body,
Perhaps over your heart if that feels comfortable to you.
Once again you can repeat the following phrases out loud,
Silently in your mind,
Or simply allow them to land and resonate.
Sending these kind wishes to yourself now.
Let's begin.
May I be well.
May I be safe.
May I be loved.
May I be peaceful.
Noticing now without judgment how it feels to send compassionate wishes to yourself.
Notice and accept whether this practice may have been challenging for you.
Know that this practice is challenging for many of us.
With practice we can learn new patterns,
Even self-compassion.
Bringing the awareness now to the breath.
Noticing the flow of the inhales and the exhales.
Returning the awareness to the body.
Notice the body supported by your chair or bed.
As you feel ready,
You can open your eyes and return to the space around you.
I invite you to take a moment to acknowledge with gratitude the time you spent working on self-compassion today.
Your practice is now complete.
