This is a meditation to help support you cultivating self-love and acceptance.
It's designed to be done in front of the mirror.
I recommend that you stand,
Placing both feet firmly into the ground and creating a sense of rootedness for yourself.
Relax your belly.
Begin taking long,
Deep breaths that enter in through the nostrils and sink down through a soft belly and exhale out the bottom of your feet.
And as you continue to breathe in through your nose and allow this breath to fill a soft belly and exhale out the bottom of your feet,
Continue to create a sense of groundedness in your body.
It might feel good to remind yourself that you're safe.
And if your eyes are closed to this point,
I invite you to open them now and find yourself in the mirror.
You want to be about an arm's length from the mirror so that you can see yourself very clearly eye to eye.
Begin by simply noticing what you notice as you look at yourself.
Observe how it feels,
Any emotions that arise,
And any sensations that occur in your body as you look yourself in the eyes.
Also bring awareness to the thoughts that are going through your mind as you look at yourself.
What exactly is that little voice saying about you,
How you look,
How you don't look?
And here we're just observing the default,
That without any intention,
When we look at ourselves here,
This is what happens.
And now gently close your eyes and take your awareness back to the breath.
Again as it enters in through the nose,
Fills up a soft belly,
And exits down through the soles of your feet with an exhale.
Continuing that way for a couple more breaths so that once again you have the experience of feeling grounded,
Rooted,
And safe.
Now I'm going to invite you to bring to mind someone that is so easy for you to love.
This is someone in your life that you really adore.
Might be a small child or a best friend,
Might be a lover or even a pet,
But someone that for you your heart opens easily and loves completely.
And as you see this person in your mind's eye,
Allow your heart to overflow with the sense of love that you have for them.
The way they delight you and bring you joy.
The way they make you laugh.
And feeling the warmth in your heart that is full of love,
I invite you now to open your eyes and once again find yourself in the mirror.
And allow yourself to see yourself through the eyes of love.
What is it to love about this human being standing before you?
Can you see the beauty,
The kindness,
The sadness,
The humanity?
Can you look at the human in front of you with love,
With a heart of warmth and generosity and acceptance?
It can be really hard to be human and to live this human experience.
It's okay to be gentle with ourselves,
To be tender.
We don't have to be so hard on ourselves.
In fact,
Showing ourselves love and compassion provides us with the greatest opportunity for growth.
We can love ourselves exactly the way we are and the way that we're not.
And we can continue to reach for greater,
Fuller expressions of who we are.
As we complete this exercise,
I invite you to give an expression of gratitude to this person in the mirror.
Perhaps you bow your head or give a gentle smile,
But in some way show and express your gratitude for the courageous human being that shows up every day in this life,
That makes the effort to love himself or herself more completely every day,
And therefore cultivating more and more capacity to give and express love in the world.
And when your gesture of gratitude is complete,
So is this exercise.
Namaste.
