Welcome,
In today's practice,
We will be cultivating self-care and self-compassion,
And then offering it out to others.
To begin,
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie down.
Allow your spine to be long.
Just feel yourself settling in as you get comfortable,
Closing your eyes when you are ready.
Allow your body to relax,
And feel yourself grounding to the earth,
And bring your attention to your breath,
And noticing how your breath is moving in and out,
Observing the natural flow of each breath.
Feel each breath like an anchor,
Allowing you to become more present to the moment.
And as you're watching the breath,
Begin to lengthen the breath just a little bit more.
You can silently count five seconds on the inhale,
And five seconds on the exhale.
Slowly,
Effortlessly,
Gently,
Drawing the breath in and out.
Notice if you're holding on to any tightness or any tension in the body.
Allow your forehead to soften,
Your facial muscles,
Your jaw softening,
Allowing your neck and shoulders to soften,
And feel yourself relaxing as you settle into the breath just a little bit more.
And as you breathe in and out,
Begin to feel your breath as it's nurturing your heart,
Without force.
See if your heart can open itself,
Allowing it to be nourished with each breath.
Let your breath happen naturally now,
And bring your hand to your heart center,
Allowing your palm to rest with care and compassion at your heart center.
And notice the gentle rise and fall of your chest with each breath,
Feeling the touch of your palm at your chest be tender and nourishing.
Just notice this nourishing sensation from your hand to your heart.
In return,
Feel your palm filling up with compassion from your heart.
The offering of this care goes back and forth,
From heart to hand,
Hand to heart,
Back and forth,
Back and forth.
Into the palm,
And out of the palm,
Into the heart.
Staying here for a few more breaths,
Being present with the palm at your heart,
Feeling the compassion,
The nurturing.
Continue to feel this energy of self-care expanding into your heart,
Breathing naturally,
And then begin to offer yourself a few healing affirmations.
May I take care of myself.
May I speak to myself with compassion.
May I be filled with peace.
If there are any other words or affirmations you need to hear at this moment,
You can offer these to yourself as well.
Have feeling how loving and nurturing this is for you.
Take a moment to extend this care to another.
Bring to mind someone in your life who could use this loving energy.
Once you have this person in mind,
Offer them the same healing affirmations.
May you take care of yourself.
May you speak to yourself with compassion.
May you be filled with peace.
Resting here for another few breaths,
In and out,
Gently release the image of this person from your mind now,
And then call to mind all of humanity,
And we offer these healing affirmations.
May we take care of ourselves.
May we speak to ourselves with compassion.
May we be filled with peace.
Once again,
Resting here for a few more breaths,
Gently release all internal images now,
Settling back into your own heart,
And just feeling your heart.
Here we can connect to the qualities of the heart,
Love,
Peace,
Compassion,
Joy,
Gratitude.
As you breathe in and out,
Allow your heart to expand with these qualities,
Love,
Peace,
Compassion,
Joy,
Gratitude.
Let these qualities fill you up and radiate all around you,
Into the space,
The room that you're in,
Feeling grounded and anchored to the earth with an open heart.
Taking in three slow,
Deep breaths,
Breathing in,
Slowly exhaling out,
Another slow,
Deep breath in,
Exhaling out,
And again,
Inhale,
And exhale.
Coming back into your body,
Feel the space all around you,
Being present with your breath as it flows in and out naturally and steadily,
And when you are ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
Thank you for allowing me to be your guide.
I wish you peace,
Health,
And happiness.
Namaste.
