Hello and a warm welcome to this Breath of Self-Compassion meditation.
My name is Derek Hill and I'm a teacher here on Inside Timer and I'm very grateful for your presence here today.
Wherever in the world you may be connecting from,
Today's meditation is ideal for those times when we might have forgotten our needs,
When we put ourselves last place yet again,
When we are feeling hurt,
Lonely or disconnected from the world or others,
When we might feel a failure or not good enough,
When we have forsaken our own boundaries or lost self-empathy.
Self-compassion is a powerful healing and connecting practice in these times,
But equally in good times when we feel well resourced and happy.
It's also a powerful way to strengthen our sense of connection with self and others and build our resilience for times of difficulty or adversity.
The Breath of Self-Compassion is an invitation to become consciously aware of a gift universal to us all,
Our self-soothing,
Calming and healing breath.
So to begin the practice,
Finding a comfortable position,
Whether sitting,
Standing or lying down and bringing what you need for additional comfort or warmth and bringing to a sense of awakeness to your posture,
So that you are alert and present,
So that you know you are here.
Your shoulders and arms can be relaxed by your sides,
Your hands resting in your lap or by your shoulders or by your sides also,
Noticing any areas of discomfort and allowing them to soften and release and giving yourself now a moment to recognize what is present right now,
What's here in your awareness,
Thoughts,
Images,
Sounds,
Feelings or sensations in the body,
Allowing them all to be as they are.
We're not pushing them away or wishing for them to be another way,
They're already here,
Part of the meditation.
But today we will intentionally focus our attention on the breath,
Wherever you notice the breath the most right now,
At the nose or mouth,
The chest or belly,
Wherever it is for you and just witnessing the breath,
Watching it for a moment.
And if in the practice ahead we are pulled away by distractions or thoughts,
We'll acknowledge this is what the busy mind does,
This is okay,
All minds do this.
And then gently,
With compassion and understanding,
Bring our attention back,
Back to focusing on the breath,
Taking a moment to watch the breath now,
In the short silence,
Ahead and now,
Tuning in as best you can to the sensations of breathing in,
Following the breath all the way in,
Past the nose or mouth,
The back of the throat,
Past the chest and down into the belly,
Doing this now for the next few in-breaths,
Ahead and now,
Reversing this,
Tuning into the sensations of breathing out,
Following the breath as it leaves the belly,
Up through the chest and ribs,
Past the back of the throat and out through the mouth or nose,
And doing this now for the next few out-breaths,
Ahead and now,
Bringing them both together,
The in-breath and the out-breath,
The full cycle of your breath,
All the way in and all the way out,
Feeling your lungs fill and your chest expand on the in-breath and your belly falling away on the out-breath,
And doing this now for the next few full cycles of the breath,
Ahead.
When we intentionally follow the breath,
We become consciously aware of breathing,
Of how it feels inside and outside of us,
And this may be comfortable or not,
We may even question why we are doing this,
We might say,
Now my breath feels strained,
But gradually it eases as we breathe in and out,
As we send messages to our brain to calm our nervous system,
We experience the soothing benefits of something we do unconsciously,
But are now consciously doing,
And this experience is universal.
Most humans experience this same deeper sense of calm when we follow the breath,
With this in-breath and this out-breath,
Recognizing this and breathing together in the short silence ahead,
And now that we found a place of calm in the breath,
A self-compassionate stillness,
Allow yourself to bring to mind a situation where you've experienced difficulty,
Suffering or pain in your life,
It could be a tough moment,
A stressful experience,
An injury or physical pain,
A disagreement with a loved one or friend,
Maybe a habit or behavior you might wish to change,
Allowing the situation to become clear for you,
Make space for it as you breathe in and as you breathe out,
And now imagine you're a kind and compassionate friend who always wishes you well,
Who would always offer you care and support,
Who would always invite you to take a breath in a moment of stress,
What words of comfort might they offer you,
What words of support they might say,
Take a moment to breathe,
It will be okay,
Or you are okay,
I'm here for you,
I'm here for you,
This moment will pass,
You have managed well,
I'm here to support you too,
You are not alone in this,
They might offer other words of comfort or understanding too,
Choose the words they might say,
Repeating silently once or twice or aloud if this helps,
And gently holding the words you choose in awareness as you breathe in and as you breathe out,
Knowing they are there for you,
Knowing they are breathing with you,
With this in-breath and this out-breath,
With this in-breath and this out-breath,
And staying with this breath of self-compassion,
Feeling connected,
Supported,
And cared for until you hear the bell at the end of the practice,
And when you're ready,
Slowly,
Gently moving your body,
Wiggling your fingers and toes,
Rolling your shoulders,
And blinking open your eyes,
Doing this with kindness,
With the self-compassion and mindful attention you have cultivated,
This practice helps us move from our default position of not deserving care,
Or of setting aside our needs for others,
We move from self-judgment and self-critical,
To being self-kind,
From feelings of being alone or isolated,
To feeling connected and loved,
From being pulled along by our busy or overthinking mind,
To being consciously aware of the breath which soothes this reactivity and unites us all in humanity,
I hope it's a practice you will give to yourself more often.
