Kindness Meditation

Join Insight Timer meditation teacher and Recovery with Yoga author Brian Hyman for a beautiful meditation about kindness. His gentle instructions guide students to relax the body and focus on the breath. He offers simple prompts to recall acts of kindness which allows students to meditate on the idea of kindness and its many benefits. Students will leave this meditation with a sense of gratitude for kindness, and they will become more willing to offer words and acts of kindness to themselves and others moving forward.

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome.

Let's find a comfortable position and settle in.

Find a comfortable seat,

In a chair,

On a cushion,

On a couch,

You can even lie down.

Find a way to relax and close your eyes.

Notice the rhythm of your breath.

Notice the inhale and the exhale.

As you breathe with awareness,

Relax the muscles across the forehead.

Relax the jaw.

Relax the shoulders.

Allow yourself to be here now,

In the present moment.

Allow the body to relax,

The mind to relax,

The heart to relax.

With awareness at your heart,

Take an inhale and exhale.

Again,

Focusing on the heart,

Inhale and exhale.

Last time,

With awareness at your heart,

Inhale and exhale.

With awareness at the heart,

With the body relaxed,

Consider the word kindness.

Keep breathing with awareness.

Keep focusing on the space around the heart and within the heart.

Consider kindness,

What it means for you,

And specifically,

Kindness that has been shown to you.

As memories come,

Times when people were kind to you,

Things people did out of kindness for you,

Kind words that were shared with you.

Whatever memory you are holding onto right now,

In regard to kindness,

Meditate on that.

How it came to be,

Actions that were taken,

Things that were said,

And how that act of kindness has continued to reverberate throughout your life,

How it benefited you.

For the next few moments,

Meditate on kindness.

Bring awareness to your heart and inhale and exhale.

Again,

With awareness at the heart,

Where kindness lives,

Inhale and exhale.

One last time,

Feeling kindness within your heart,

Inhale and exhale.

Keeping your eyes closed,

Notice how your body feels when you think about kindness.

Is it relaxed?

Is it calm?

Do you feel centered,

Balanced?

Notice the quality of the mind.

Is it receptive,

Open?

Notice any connection you may have to your spirit or soul.

Do you feel connected to a higher power,

The universe,

All living things?

Before you open your eyes,

Remember that kindness can be shared,

Remember that kindness can be given away by anyone at any time.

A smile is an act or gesture of kindness.

A compliment,

Saying something nice,

Is an act of kindness.

Thinking of service,

Helping someone else today,

Would be an act of kindness.

Consider being kind today in whatever way that feels right to you.

As kindness has been shown to you,

See where you can share kindness today with someone else.

Gently blink your eyes open.

Thank you for being here today.

Thank you for meditating on the idea of kindness.

Have a beautiful day.