Hi there,
Dr Adele Stewart here.
This meditation is Giving and Receiving Compassion from the Mindful Self Compassion Program.
This breath practice helps us stay in connection with others while practicing compassion for ourselves.
Finding yourself a comfortable place to sit,
Having the spine reasonably upright,
Perhaps imagining a string coming from the sternum or the top of the head gently pulling upwards.
Sitting in a dignified yet relaxed posture.
If it feels okay,
Closing your eyes,
Otherwise having a soft downward gaze and perhaps offering yourself some soothing or supportive touch,
Perhaps a hand on the heart or somewhere else in the body as a reminder to bring not just awareness but kind and loving awareness to your experience and to yourself.
Taking a few deep relaxing breaths now.
Noticing how your breath nourishes you and your body on the inhale and has a soothing letting go effect on the body as you exhale.
Gradually letting your breathing find its own natural rhythm.
Continuing to notice the nourishment with the inhale and the soothing with the exhale.
If you like,
Allowing yourself to be gently rocked and caressed by the rhythm of your breathing.
Now focusing most of your attention on the in-breath now.
Letting yourself really savour the sensation of breathing in.
One breath after another,
Noticing how the in-breath perhaps energises,
Nourishes your body.
Maybe as you breathe in,
You might like to breathe in kindness and compassion for yourself.
Just feeling the quality of kindness and compassion as you breathe in.
Or perhaps for you,
You might have an image like light or a sense like cool or warmth or a word that rides on the breath in.
No need to control or manipulate the breath.
Just allowing the breath in and the breath out,
Focusing on breathing in kindness and compassion into your heart,
Perhaps into your whole body.
Continuing to breathe in and out.
Now shifting your focus to the out-breath,
Feeling your body breathe out,
Feeling the ease of exhalation,
Letting go,
Perhaps the relaxation.
Now calling to mind a being whom you love or perhaps is struggling at the moment and needs compassion.
Visualising that being clearly in your mind.
If you don't visualise easily,
Just having a sense of that person.
Begin directing your out-breath to this person,
Offering them the ease of breathing out.
And if you like,
Perhaps sending kindness and compassion to this being with each out-breath,
One breath after another.
Again,
This could be just the breath or it could be an image or a word riding on the breath.
If you prefer,
You can breathe out to a group of people rather than visualising one particular person or being.
Now feeling the sensation of breathing both in and out,
Savouring the sensation of the breath in and the breath out,
Letting your attention linger,
Mostly on the in-breath for yourself over and over.
When it feels right,
Only when it feels right,
Breathing out for others,
Finding just the right balance,
Drawing kindness and compassion in for yourself,
Sending kindness and compassion or something good out to another when it feels right.
That something good could be even quite something quite literal like a cup of tea,
Some flowers,
Maybe this being needs courage,
Checking out the ratio that feels right at this moment in time,
In for me and out for you.
Sometimes we might only need one breath for ourselves and a few breaths for the other.
And other times we need lots of breath in for ourselves and only when it feels okay do we breathe out for the other.
Can we be as kind and compassionate to whatever our experience of this is as possible.
Letting this meditation be easy,
No need to strive,
No need to try hard,
Just allowing it to be as easy as breathing itself,
Allowing the breath to flow in and out,
Perhaps like the constant flow of oxygen in and carbon dioxide out with the trees taking the carbon dioxide in and breathing oxygen out.
Perhaps it's more like the ocean constantly going in and out,
The tide,
The waves tenderly lapping the shore,
A limitless,
Boundless flow.
How would it be to allow yourself be a part of this limitless,
Boundless flow,
Part of this ocean of compassion.
Knowing that the meditation is coming to an end soon,
But this giving and receiving compassion can be used in daily life,
In life,
Whenever there's any suffering,
Particularly in interpersonal context.
So letting go of the breath right now,
Noticing the effect of the meditation,
Noticing the effect of the giving and receiving meditation on the whole system.
Being as kind to your experience as you can,
Knowing that this meditation will be very different,
Different days,
Different states of mind.
And when you're ready,
Really gently opening the eyes,
Keeping a downward soft gaze to start with,
Moving the body gently,
Going about your day.
