You are.
This meditation is the self compassion break.
Brief meditation can be done any time of day.
And so just bringing your eyes to a close partially or fully.
Deep breath in and out.
Softening through the muscles of the body,
Through the shoulders,
The jaw,
The skin of the forehead and the muscles around the eyes.
And for this exercise we're actually going to bring to mind a situation in your life that is difficult,
That is causing you some stress.
Maybe it's something like a health problem or a relationship problem,
A work problem,
Or perhaps a friend who's struggling.
So just choosing a problem in the mild to moderate range,
Not a big one,
So something like on a scale of 1 to 10 it would be a 3 or 4.
And just allowing yourself to see and hear and feel your way into the problem to the extent that you could experience some uneasiness in your body,
Some stress.
Noticing where you feel it the most,
Just making contact with that discomfort that you can feel in your body.
And then inviting in the words slowly and kindly,
This is a moment of suffering,
Struggle,
Stress.
This hurts.
And that's the mindfulness of the emotion,
Just naming it,
Validating it.
And then the words,
Suffering is part of living,
This struggle that I feel,
It's a struggle we all experience in our lives.
This is how it feels when a person struggles in this way.
This common humanity,
The sense of I'm not alone.
And now just putting your hands over your heart or wherever it feels soothing,
Like maybe your belly or hands on the arms to give yourself a squeeze,
Just feeling the warmth and gentle touch of your hands,
Just as if you could just feel kindness streaming through your hands and into you.
Inviting in the words,
May I be kind to myself.
That sense of self-kindness.
Other options might be,
May I accept myself as I am?
May I live in love?
Or if a bit more energy is needed,
May I protect myself?
May I motivate myself?
May I give myself what I need?
And if you're having any difficulty finding the right words,
You could imagine that a dear friend or a loved one is having the same problem as you.
Noticing what would you say to this person heart to heart?
If your friend were to hold just a few of your words in their mind,
What would you like them to be?
What message would you like to deliver?
Now can you offer that same message to yourself?
Just holding that message in your open-hearted awareness,
The sensation of it.
Something that's always there for you to return to whenever you like.
And just beginning to gently release your attention to the meditation.
Sitting in your experience exactly as it is,
Exactly as you are.
And slowly just wiggling your fingers and toes.
Taking a stretch.
Taking soft movement to the body,
Shaking out the head.
And slowly blinking your eyes open.
Welcoming yourself back to this moment.
Welcome.
.
