This guided practice invites you to validate your struggles and feelings in difficult moments with acceptance and mindfulness and to find ways to give to yourself what you really need when you are struggling. This is a guided practice from developed by Kristin Neff and part of Mindful Self-Compassion training.
Self-compassion break when you notice that you're feeling stress or emotional discomfort if you find yourself struggling see if you can find the discomfort in your body where is it and where do you feel it the most gently noticing your body feeling the stress this is what our bodies are built to do as well so allowing yourself to connect and feel the sensations as they arise in your body saying to yourself slowly this is a moment of stress this is a moment of difficulty this is what struggle feels like ouch this is hard there's tension in my stomach just naming just naming and validating what this moment feels like and secondly stress and difficulties are part of life i'm not alone others feel stress and struggles just like me just like me we all struggle at times in our lives this is how it feels when a person struggles in this way if i feel like this it means i'm human just like others and now if you wish putting your hands on your heart or wherever it feels soothing feeling the warmth and gentle touch of your hands and saying to yourself if you wish may i be kind to myself may i give myself what i need right now what do i need right now or saying i've got your back i'm here i'm here by my side i'm not gonna leave myself i'm gonna stand by my side see if you can find words what you need in times like this perhaps saying to yourself may i be strong or may i be patient may i be patient with myself i'm right here i stand with me may i feel protected i can do this or we can do this and perhaps there's more need for tender self-compassion perhaps instead you need to hear may i accept myself as i am may i accept myself as i am or may i learn to accept myself as i am just as i am may i forgive myself may i feel supported and if you find you're having difficulty finding the right words imagine that a dear friend or loved one is having the same problem as you what would you say to this person if your friend would leave with just a few words in mind what would you like those words to be what message would you like to deliver heart to heart would you like your friend to know what would you like to offer at the time of struggle and give the same message to yourself
