Navigating Transitions: Self-Compassion Practice

Often times it's easier to be more compassionate towards others than towards ourselves, but with practice, we can harness this skill.
For this practice, we'll imagine treating yourself like you would a dear friend (someone you really care about) who is going through a challenging time, and offer that same compassion to ourselves.

Transcript

Oftentimes when we're going through difficult periods or transitions or changes in our lives, It can be easier to be more compassionate towards others than it is towards ourselves. And with practice we can harness this skill and see what it's like to offer ourselves that same compassion, Same love that we would offer to someone that we care deeply about. So for this practice I imagine you can imagine treating yourself like you would a dear friend, Someone that you care about and that is easy to love, Someone who's maybe going through a challenging time that you care about and you want to be there for. So I invite you to find your comfortable seat and you can close your eyes if you'd like to or feel your feet on the ground. Just allow yourself to come into an upright posture, Feeling your spine on top of itself, Feeling the relaxation of your shoulders, Just allowing yourself to find your breath, The thing that carries us from moment to moment. As you're breathing in and out, See what it's like to come into your center. Maybe that's a place inside your stomach or your heart, Wherever you feel most centered in your body. It's also the feeling of the feet touching the ground. Wherever your center is, Allow yourself to arrive there. If it feels comfortable for you, You can bring your hand to your heart, Just feeling the warmth of your own touch and then let's practice with a few different components of self-compassion. First, Bringing a sense of mindfulness. A sense of awareness. To do this, We can just say to ourselves, This is hard or this is challenging. Whatever it is that you're feeling or sensing, Just naming it with a sense of mindful attention. Then the second component of self- compassion, Recognizing that we're not alone and recognizing our sense of common humanity. You can do this by saying to yourself, I'm not alone. There are other people around the world experiencing this same feeling right now. I am not the only one going through this. Then last but not least, Bringing a sense of self-kindness. You can ask yourself, What would support me right now? Taking a moment to let that land and let some wisdom to arise from the inside out. Then we can take one more breath in together and on the exhale, Gently opening the eyes if they were closed. You can bring the hand down from the heart if you'd like. Just returning to this moment, Thanking yourself for offering yourself that sense of kindness that you would offer to a dear friend. Thank you for practicing.