So welcome to this meditation on self-compassion.
I invite you to either sit on the floor,
Cross-legged,
Or sit in a chair.
And if you're on the floor,
See if you can have your knees below your hips.
So we want to have our hips a bit raised.
Maybe this means you're sitting on a cushion or a pillow.
And see if you can feel three points of contact with the earth,
Grounding yourself as a stable,
Stable body.
And if you're on the chair,
Sit towards the edge of the chair so your back is not resting.
Both of your feet planted on the ground.
You have a strong back.
And for both postures,
Whatever feels comfortable,
I like to think of it as having a strong spine and a soft front,
Allowing yourself to hold yourself and allow yourself to feel.
And if you haven't done so already,
You can close your eyes,
Turning inwards into the body.
And to begin the meditation,
I will invite the sound of the bell one time as a reminder to come back to our breath and to come back to the present moment.
And so today's meditation is on self-compassion and self-love.
So often we give the love out to others,
To our friends,
To our children,
To our family,
Our partners.
And seldom do we turn around that love and give it back to ourselves.
So for the next 15 minutes,
This meditation is for you to be with yourself,
To love yourself and to just be.
Part of my favorite practice in meditation is that we get to practice just being,
Just being aware of our breath,
Aware of our body,
Aware of our thoughts coming in and coming out.
And it's a moment for us to just be with ourselves.
And so today I invite you to also be with yourself in a loving and compassionate way.
And so we'll start to bring our awareness to the breath,
The inhale and the exhale.
Not modifying or manipulating it,
But just being curious and just being aware of how it moves through your body.
Maybe you can feel it,
Maybe you don't notice it yet.
Just follow the cycle of the breath,
The inhalation and the exhalation.
And maybe it helps to visualize your breath moving through your body.
Breathing in,
I am aware that I am breathing in.
Breathing out,
I am aware that I am breathing out.
Our breath and our body is our sacred home.
And allow your breath to be the vibrant energy that cultivates this sacred home of self-love and self-compassion.
Noticing the in-breath and visualizing the out-breath.
Just becoming aware that our body is breathing in and that our body is breathing out.
And there might be thoughts that arise.
Allow them to come without judgment,
Recognizing that they too have a space.
But as simple as they come,
You can also allow them to flow away and bring your awareness back to the breath.
Maybe it's helpful to put a hand on your belly so that you can feel the full inhalation,
The exhalation,
And your breath moving through your body.
The breath inhaling,
Starting in your belly,
Moving up through your chest,
To your shoulders,
To your throat,
To your mouth,
And out your nose,
And down your throat and your chest and back into your belly.
And see if you can just begin to notice that the full cycle of the breath continues,
No matter what you do.
And as you become more aware of your breath,
See that on the inhale,
You can deepen your breath a bit more.
And on the exhale,
Lengthen.
Breathing in,
I deepen my breath.
Breathing out,
I lengthen my breath.
And of course,
The center of your breath is from your sacred heart space.
And with every in-breath,
You're flowing compassion to yourself.
And with every out-breath,
You're flowing compassion to yourself.
And you can begin to further deepen your breath,
And we'll engage the diaphragmatic breathing technique.
So with your hand on your belly,
As you breathe in,
Allow your belly to fully release,
Creating space for your lungs,
For your diaphragm.
Breathing in.
And as you exhale,
Slowly pull your belly back in towards your spine.
Inhale,
Allow your belly to release.
And exhale,
Pull your belly back in towards your spine.
This breathing technique engages your parasympathetic nervous system,
Which allows for your body to remain calm and to store this calmness in your body.
You'll notice you'll be able to slow and deepen your breath.
Breathing in,
Allowing your belly to release.
And breathing out,
Bringing your belly back in towards your spine.
And with every breath of self-compassion,
It might feel awkward or uncomfortable or new.
And breathe with acceptance into all of these feelings.
Giving self-compassion is not something that we are trained to do,
And it's not always something that we are good at.
So it might feel uncomfortable the first few times that you try it,
And that's okay.
Just allow whatever feelings that you are experiencing.
Allow them to be there without judgment and with acceptance,
As they too are a part of you.
And as you breathe with love,
Notice if there are any points of tension in your body,
Or maybe places in your body where you hold pain.
And breathing in,
Become aware of this pain.
And breathing out,
Flow compassion to this pain in your body.
Maybe if you don't have any feelings of tension in your body,
When you breathe in,
Just become aware of your body and its walls.
And breathing out,
Allow your body to release.
This is a practice that you can also do during your day.
For a few moments,
I like to practice it when I'm particularly feeling overwhelmed or frustrated.
Breathing in,
I become aware of my body,
And breathing out,
I bring ease into my body.
This is also an act of self-compassion.
And now you can let go of the diaphragmatic breathing and return to the normal breath.
And again,
Bring awareness to your breath and recognize,
How does it feel now?
How is your breath in your body?
And I invite you to bring your hands over your heart,
Holding this sacred,
Mysterious center of our being.
And you can feel that you are nurturing self-compassion in yourself,
And that you are holding safe this space in your body.
And you can do this at any point in your day,
Bringing yourself back to your breath,
Back into your body.
Breathing in,
I am aware of my breath.
And breathing out,
I am aware of my breath.
This simple practice will bring us back into the present moment.
And as I invite you to come back into the body,
Into the space,
Into the room,
Notice how your body feels when you are intentionally flowing your breath with acts of self-compassion.
And as I close this meditation with three sounds of the bell,
I invite you to also set an intention for yourself,
To be kind to yourself,
To be compassionate and loving,
And to remember that simply by putting a hand on your heart,
It can be a simple reminder to take a breath,
To be in the present moment,
And to bring self-compassion to yourself.
And now,
If you haven't done so already,
You can slowly open your eyes,
Bringing yourself back into the room,
Maybe uncross your legs,
Massage your knees or your ankles or your feet and your legs.
And I want to thank you for your presence in being here today for yourself,
For bringing self-compassion into the world and into your own body,
And for being yourself.
Have a beautiful day.
