Hello,
And welcome to this self-compassion practice.
I want to honour your courage for taking the time to build some compassion for yourself.
It's not always easy,
But it's incredibly important for your mental health.
To begin,
Find a comfortable seat.
Invite a sense of dignity and length into the spine.
Keep the shoulders relaxed and the chest open.
Once you feel settled,
Gently close down the eyes.
Let's take three full breaths together.
Inhale through the nose,
Filling the lungs with air.
And exhale out of the mouth,
Gently emptying the lungs.
Take another breath in,
Noticing that feeling of expansion.
And breathe out.
Notice the feeling of relaxation.
One more big inhale.
And an exhale.
Just allow the breath to come and go naturally.
Start to imagine a big smile stretching across your forehead,
Creating a feeling of openness and expansion.
Bring this smile to your lips and notice how this makes you feel.
Move your awareness down the body and imagine a big smile stretching across the chest.
Take a moment to explore this sense of expansion.
Rest your awareness here and see if you can sense the rhythm of your heartbeat.
It may be very subtle or quite obvious.
Either way,
Just rest your focus here.
As you connect to the heart,
Begin to fill it with love.
You could bring to mind a person or a pet that you really love.
Noticing this feeling of compassion that starts to build when you bring them to mind.
As this feeling grows,
Visualize a golden ball of light expanding from the heart.
See it grow larger and larger until it bathes your entire body in golden light.
Feel this love from the top of your head all the way down to your toes.
And acknowledge that you can return to this feeling any time you want.
Now we are going to shift gears and bring to mind feelings of unworthiness or not feeling like you're enough.
How does this show up in the body?
Often these emotions appear as a feeling of heaviness.
Recognize that these feelings are a normal part of the human experience,
Nothing to feel ashamed of.
Recognize that these feelings of unworthiness do not represent your actual worth as a human being.
You are worthy of your own grace and love.
Let's invite that golden light back to bathe you with love.
Notice the feelings of heaviness being lifted by the light.
And again,
You could bring to mind that person or pet that you really love.
Allow this feeling of compassion to transform those feelings of unworthiness.
Listen deeply to the words in this quote.
You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself.
And that person is not to be found anywhere.
You yourself,
As much as anybody in the entire universe,
Deserve your love and affection.
I invite you to repeat the following affirmations three times in your mind.
I am a soul of love,
A heart of peace,
A mind of stillness,
And a being of light.
I am a soul of love,
A heart of peace,
A mind of stillness,
And a being of light.
I am a soul of love,
A heart of peace,
A mind of stillness,
And a being of light.
Now invite some deeper breaths into the lungs.
Begin to wriggle the fingers and toes.
When you feel ready,
You can slowly open your eyes.
Try to take this feeling of compassion and love with you for the rest of your day.
Thank you for watching.
