Welcome to the Self-Compassion Meditation.
This is Anne Baker with Essence Health.
When times are challenging,
We tend to be tough on ourselves,
Which keeps us in a negativity cycle and only adds to our stress.
Self-Compassion practice relaxes the nervous system,
Fills our cup so we can give to others,
And builds our resilience.
I invite you to find a quiet place with no distractions,
Sitting or laying down.
We will start with settling the body in your chair or on the floor.
With each inhale,
Greet yourself as you are in this moment.
With each exhale,
I invite you to allow yourself to let go of stress and settle more deeply.
Notice how by just paying attention to the breath,
It slows down and your body starts to release stress on its own.
On the inhale,
You are allowing yourself,
Welcoming.
On the exhale,
You are letting go,
Feeling the support of the chair or the floor.
Bring your awareness to your body with each breath,
Starting with your feet,
Your legs,
Your hips,
Your belly.
Inhaling into any areas of stress,
Allowing the exhale to release and relax.
Now bring awareness to the lower back and the chest,
The shoulders,
Allowing them to relax away from your ears.
Relaxing the neck,
Jaw,
The muscles of the face,
And your scalp.
Now I invite you to bring your attention to your heart and imagine the breath is coming in and out of the heart.
You can bring to mind someone or something you are grateful for.
Feeling your heart expand,
Allowing the heart to open to allow your emotions to be felt.
You can imagine you are creating a container within your heart.
As you become aware of your emotions,
Maybe difficult emotions,
Maybe some negative self-talk,
Or just the memory of a difficult situation you are in.
As you call to mind this,
You can place your hands on your heart or gently do a self-hug with one hand on the opposite shoulder and the other hand under the other arm.
Do whatever feels the most nurturing to you,
Or you can simply rest your hands in your lap.
Gently allow your emotions to rise without changing them,
Judging or analyzing.
Just simply feel what you are feeling right now.
Part of self-compassion is acknowledging your suffering and validating your feelings.
You can tell yourself,
This is hard right now.
I am suffering.
You can remind yourself you are not alone,
As it is part of the human condition to experience suffering from time to time.
Whatever way seems most comforting for you,
Bring words of kindness and tenderness to yourself.
Talk to yourself like you would a precious five-year-old child.
I am so sorry this is hard.
I am here.
Allow encouraging words to come to mind.
I am doing the best I can.
I am enough.
I am worthy of all the good things in life.
I can let that go.
If the emotion gets too much,
Just come back to the breath in the heart,
Feeling your feet on the floor.
Your lower body helps to ground you.
Allow your experience to be exactly what it is.
Come back to the heart.
Imagine the heart is breathing your whole body.
Bring your awareness into the chest.
Imagine the inhale and exhale.
Come back to the heart.
With each breath,
You are becoming lighter and more energized.
Imagine a loving presence surrounding you as you breathe.
We will sit within this silent,
Loving presence for a few minutes.
Come back to the heart.
Come back to the heart.
As this meditation comes to a close,
Please know you can take a self-compassion break whenever you feel overwhelmed or burdened by a situation.
By sitting with your suffering,
With care and compassion,
You can transform any moment.
This is Anne Baker from Essence Health.
