Awakening Self-Confidence

This guided practice is an excerpt from the Compassion Conversations live session on Insight Timer. Self-confidence is built by experience and grows as we cultivate trust in ourselves and that regardless of what is happening externally, we are okay—that our natural resilience is always available to us. In this practice, we soften the body to soften the mind with a rotation of consciousness, heart-centered affirmations and close with gentle movement to further embody the experience of confidence.

Transcript

If you're lying down,

Please do put something beneath the knees or beneath the head to support the low back and the neck so that there is ease in the body.

So the body can simply surrender to the support or release of the body.

So you can do this practice either seated or lying down.

I'll invite you to find whatever is most comfortable in your body today.

If you're lying down,

Please do put something beneath the knees or beneath the head to support the low back and the knee to support the low back.

And then if you're lying down,

Please surrender to the support around you without having to strain or without being uncomfortable so you don't have to fidget.

And then if you're seated,

Let there be a support behind your back if that feels okay.

So again,

You can just lean into and trust that you're being supported.

This theme of trust is moving through our practice today.

If you're feeling comfortable,

Please do put something beneath the head.

And then if you're lying down,

Please surrender to the support around you without having to strain or without being uncomfortable so you don't have to strain or without being uncomfortable.

So this is a practice that I'm going to do.

This adds warmth to the body and invites the nervous system to experience a sense of safety,

A sense of peace,

A sense of peace.

And once you're settled in,

If it feels available to you,

Go ahead and close the eyes as an invitation to move inward.

And if you prefer to keep your eyes open,

It's okay.

Just invite them to have a soft,

Slightly blurred gaze gently off in the distance.

And taking a nice full breath in through the nose,

Feeling the breath filling the body and then pause at the top of the inhale and open the mouth and gently sigh,

Just releasing as you soften through the muscles in the face and the jaw,

Releasing the tongue,

Biting another full breath in through the nose,

Feeling the chest and the heart expand.

And then gently sigh,

Exhale,

Softening through the neck and shoulders all the way down to the fingertips.

And inviting one more full breath like this in through the nose,

Feeling the heart open,

Hold the breath at the top of the inhale for just a moment,

Open the mouth,

Sigh it out,

Exhale,

Allowing the hips to sink into the support beneath you,

Allowing the body to feel fully supported as the breath finds a natural rhythm.

Each breath flowing fluidly one after the other.

And gently scanning the body from head to toe and toe to head,

Just becoming aware of any areas of additional tension,

Allowing the breath to rest there for a moment.

Exhaling through the tension,

Perhaps offering an acknowledgement of gratitude to the body for letting you know that there's some discomfort or tension held here.

And then gently bringing the awareness now into the top of the head,

Just noticing the crown of the head.

Becoming aware of the crown of the head,

The point between the eyebrows,

The right eye,

The left eye,

Both eyes.

Becoming aware of the right temple,

Left temple,

Right ear,

Left ear,

Right cheek,

Left cheek,

Right nostril,

Left nostril,

Nose tip,

Upper lip,

Lower lip,

Both lips,

Teeth,

Tongue,

And chin.

Becoming aware of the whole head,

The whole face.

Becoming aware of the throat,

The throat center,

And the right shoulder,

Right upper arm,

Elbow,

Lower arm,

Top of the right hand,

Palm of the right hand,

The whole right hand,

The right wrist,

Right forearm,

Right elbow,

Right upper arm,

Right shoulder,

The whole right arm,

The left shoulder,

Left upper arm,

Left elbow,

Forearm,

Wrist,

Top of the hand,

Palm of the hand,

The whole left hand,

Left wrist,

Left forearm,

Left elbow,

Left upper arm,

Left shoulder,

The whole left arm,

Right shoulder blade,

Left shoulder blade,

Both shoulder blades,

Upper back,

Lower back,

Both lips,

Right thigh,

Right knee,

Right shin,

Right ankle,

Top of the right foot,

Sole of the right foot,

The whole right foot,

Right ankle,

Right knee,

Right hip,

Left upper leg,

Left knee,

Left shin,

Left ankle,

Left top of the foot,

Left bottom of the foot,

Whole left foot,

Left ankle,

Left knee,

Left hip,

Whole left leg,

Both legs together,

Both arms together,

Both arms and both legs together,

The whole torso,

The whole head,

The whole body together,

The whole body feeling heavy,

Soft and fully supported,

The whole body fully supported.

And gently bringing awareness to the flow of the breath as it moves in and out through the body,

Might bring the awareness and rest at the center of the heart.

You're breathing in,

Down into the heart and exhaling from the heart space.

With each breath in,

The heart begins to open and gently irradiate.

With each exhale,

It radiates with warmth,

Drawing out farther.

You might notice a color here,

A color that you associate with ease,

With ease and flow.

As you breathe in,

This color gently begins to radiate and as you exhale,

It spreads out through the whole body.

Color of ease and flow radiating with each breath.

Folding in this heart space and holding this color,

You might echo these words to yourself.

May I trust in the flow of life.

May I trust my heart is ready for anything.

May I trust love is always loving me.

May I trust that in this moment,

I'm okay.

May I trust in the flow of life.

May I trust my heart is ready for anything.

May I trust love is always loving me.

May I trust that in this moment,

I'm okay.

May I trust in the flow of life.

May I trust my heart is ready for anything.

May I trust love is always loving me.

May I trust that in this moment,

I'm okay.

May I trust in this moment,

I'm okay.

In this moment,

I'm okay.

Continuing to breathe in the heart space,

Feeling the energy of these words moving,

Vibrating,

Radiating throughout the body.

And softly,

Gently allowing the breath to draw deeper.

You bring your awareness now to rest in the solar plexus,

The space between the navel and the ribs.

You might visualize here a soft golden yellow light just swirling and radiating here much like the sun.

Feeling it move with the breath,

This golden yellow light radiating a gentle warmth that draws from the heart energy above all the way down into the earth with each exhale.

But you're breathing in on your inhale,

Drawing in through the crown of the head,

Gathering that light and energy from the heart resting in the solar plexus.

And as you exhale,

It pulls down into the earth,

Rooting you,

Grounding you.

Warm yellow golden light radiating with each breath.

Here on the next inhale,

Breathing in the following,

I am strong and confident in my choices and actions.

Exhale and move through the day with confidence,

Clarity,

And ease.

Inhale,

Drawing in from above,

I am strong and confident in my choices and actions.

Exhaling into the earth,

I move through the day with confidence,

Clarity,

And ease.

Inhale,

Drawing in from above,

I am strong and confident in my choices and actions.

Exhale into the earth,

I move through the day with confidence,

Clarity,

And ease.

Trying to breathe in your own rhythm,

I am strong and confident in my choices and actions.

And move through the day with confidence,

Clarity,

And ease,

I trust in the flow of life.

I trust in the flow of life.

I trust in the flow of life.

I trust.

I trust.

I trust.

I trust.

I trust.

I trust.

Sensing into the solar plexus,

Feeling the support beneath the body,

The vibration of these words flowing and riding the waves of the breath into each cell of the body.

The body radiating trust,

Clarity,

Ease,

Confidence.

And sensing into this feeling and bookmarking this in your consciousness saying,

Oh,

This feeling,

This trust,

Confidence,

Clarity,

And ease,

This is within me.

Knowing that this is available to you at any time,

It already exists.

You begin to gently deepen the breath,

Becoming aware of the points of contact with the body and the support beneath you,

The backs of the shoulders,

The hips,

The backs of the hands,

The heels,

Sensing the body held by the earth and the support beneath you,

The whole body held and supported,

Filled with flowing breath.

As you gently begin to visualize your body in the space around you,

Sensing the environment that is around the body.

You begin to draw your awareness outward,

Becoming aware of the sounds around the body,

Sounds off in the distance.

Begin to softly invite movement into the fingertips and the toes.

And if it feels inviting,

Reaching the arms overhead into a big stretch and then allowing them to gently fall and rest at your side.

Now if you're lying down,

It might feel good to draw the knees into the chest and give them an embrace and rock side to side.

If you're seated,

It might feel good to roll the shoulders,

Keeping the eyes closed and inviting a little bit of subtle movement into the joints of the body.

If you're lying down,

You might roll over to one side,

Placing the arm closest to the ceiling on the ground and letting that support you as you return to a seated position.

Or we'll all meet back seated with the eyes closed.

And from here,

If it's available to you,

I invite you to reach the arms up overhead into a V.

And if this doesn't feel good in the body or in the shoulders,

You can simply lay the hands on the lap,

Palms face up and roll the shoulders back and lift the gaze slightly up so you raise the chin.

So either arms up in a V,

Lift the gaze up just a little bit or hands resting palms up on the lap,

Looking up and taking a couple of breaths here.

The arms up.

Repeat our phrases here.

So we're going to just gently echo in your mind's eye,

May I trust in the flow of life.

May I trust my heart is ready for anything.

May I trust love is always loving me.

And I trust that in this moment,

I'm okay.

I am strong and confident in my choices and actions.

I move through the day with confidence,

Clarity,

And ease.

Take a nice big inhale.

Exhale,

Release the arms and go ahead and shake them out.

Let the whole body shake,

Kind of like you're flicking water off your fingers.

And taking a nice big inhale,

Open the mouth,

Exhale,

Bring the chin to the chest and pause here for a moment.

Just feel the effects of that posture of that repetition,

Of that intention.

And invite a soft grin to form on the lips,

One that says,

Yes,

I trust.

I trust.

And opening your eyes and letting yourself take in the sight of you,

Seeing yourself,

Your lap,

Your hands,

And sensing into the okayness of this moment that these hands,

This body is okay right now and all is well.

And returning your gaze to center,

Welcome back.

You're doing very well.

.

Reviews

Extraordinary and masterfully communication. Most valuable of all I have experienced for a sense of inner strength. Very grateful for the serene voice and specific, thorough and intelligent healing process.