Welcome friends,
I'm Bob Barlow from Meditate with Bob,
And I'm so happy we'll be spending some time together today.
In this guided meditation,
You'll have a chance to get better at a very important thing,
Saying I love you to yourself,
And really meaning it,
Really flowing love to your awesome and lovable self.
The wonderful artist and meditation teacher Yumi Sakugawa advises us to spend at least 10 minutes every day showering ourselves with self-love.
That's not something a lot of us have been taught how to do.
It's so worth doing.
Now,
Let's get comfortable.
Make any adjustments that will allow you to sit in a way that supports a relaxed alertness,
An easy sense of simply being.
And it would be nice now to take a deep breath through your nose,
Hold it at the top for a moment,
Then exhale slowly through your nose.
That longer,
Slower out-breath sends a message to your nervous system to relax.
One or two more breaths like that would be lovely.
Breathing deep into your belly,
Holding at the top,
Then a long,
Slow exhalation.
And when you're ready,
Allowing the eyes to close or simply casting them downward a bit,
Whatever feels right.
Let's invite some relaxation now.
Letting go in the shoulders,
And the belly,
The eyes soften,
Muscles of the face relax,
The lips,
The tongue,
The jaw.
Letting go in the hips and the glutes now,
Relaxing the knees,
And right behind the knees,
And the soles of your feet.
Inviting any areas that we didn't mention to simply let go.
And noticing maybe the way energy circulates more freely in our bodies when we've given ourselves permission to let go.
Relaxing is itself a way of loving ourselves,
And it can have measurable positive effects on every area of our lives,
Physical,
Emotional,
And spiritual.
Whatever your level of relaxation may be right now,
Do you think you can let go just a tiny bit more?
Become 10% more relaxed?
And maybe another 10%?
Yeah,
It might be nice to imagine giving yourself a hug now,
And either out loud or silently say to yourself,
I love you,
I love you,
I love you so very much.
If that doesn't come so easily,
Maybe imagine a beloved relative holding you and saying,
I love you,
I love you so very much.
Perhaps a distant ancestor,
Or maybe your most evolved self,
Or an angel,
Or maybe something from the natural world,
A river,
Or a cloud.
And whoever they are,
They may be holding you and rocking you,
Or holding your hands and looking at you with caring eyes.
And they're just telling you,
I love you,
I love you,
I love you so much.
Continuing to breathe naturally,
Continuing to shower yourself in love,
And I'll give you some time to simply continue telling yourself,
Or imagine yourself being told,
I love you,
I love you,
I love you.
And now imagine yourself immersed in that love,
Bathing in that love energy,
That healing,
Absorbing it deeply into your being.
Take some time for that now,
Bathing in loving energy.
Once more,
Either out loud or silently saying to yourself,
I love you,
I love you so very much.
I love you,
I love you,
I love you.
And before we end our practice for today,
Feel yourself glowing with all that loving energy,
Pulsating with love.
And no effort,
Sharing it with the world now,
Just radiating love,
Like a candle,
Or like the sun.
Knowing that the love never runs out,
It can't run out.
Knowing that it is replenished with every breath you take.
And also knowing that reconnecting with that love whenever you want to is as easy as telling yourself,
I love you,
I love you.
And preparing now to end this meditation by resolving to keep the love flowing for the rest of the day,
The rest of the week,
The rest of your life.
And when you're ready,
Inviting a slightly deeper breath and some subtle movement in your fingers and toes,
Little wiggling wrists and ankles,
Stretching a bit,
Giving yourself a hug if you'd like,
And slowly,
Gently opening your eyes.
