This is a self-compassion meditation.
I want you to take a few moments to get comfortable,
Whether you're sitting down or laying down.
Just make sure you feel comfortable and safe.
And if you feel comfortable,
You can close your eyes.
If not,
Just pick something that's not distracting to gaze at.
And I want you to take a few slow,
Deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
And then as you begin to breathe normally,
I want you to take a moment to think about an experience you've had that was challenging for you.
It might have been a recent experience or something that happened in the past that you'd like to work with.
Just choose one experience and reflect on what happened with that experience.
And as you reflect on this experience,
I encourage you to allow yourself to get in touch with the emotions that you experienced,
The emotions that came up for you around whatever happened.
See if you can get in touch with the physical sensations of these emotions and allow them to be there.
And that's what we're going to work with in this self-compassion meditation.
So I want you to get curious about what you're experiencing physically and starting at your head and moving downward.
I want you to notice any physical sensations in your head,
Your neck,
Throat,
Chest,
Abdomen,
Arms,
Hands,
Legs.
And feet.
Now I want you to zoom in on the part of your body where you're feeling these feelings most intensely.
And get curious about them.
Are they hot or cold?
Are they moving or still?
Are they light or heavy?
Just see what you notice without judgment.
And as you observe these feelings,
I want you to breathe into the space where you're feeling these physical sensations.
See if you can send some breath to this part of your body.
And I want you to see if you can just allow these feelings to be there.
You may not like them or want them.
You may feel the urge to push them away.
But see if you can just breathe and allow these feelings to be present.
So often we fear that our emotions will take over us and we respond with a lot of resistance.
And this resistance only makes the feelings bigger and makes them stick around for longer.
So in this moment,
I'm encouraging you to breathe deeply and allow the feelings to be there.
I want you to know that these feelings tell you some valuable information.
They tell you that you're a normal human being with a heart.
They tell you that you care and that there are things that matter to you in this life.
And this is what humans feel when there's a gap between what we want and what we've got.
The bigger the gap,
The bigger the feeling.
Take a deep breath.
And now I want you to put one or both hands over your chest,
Over your heart.
And I want you to send some love to yourself related to this experience and related to the feelings and emotions that you're experiencing in this moment.
I want you to imagine comforting these feelings yourself as though they were a crying baby or a frightened puppy.
Not to get rid of the feelings,
But to allow them to be there.
To offer yourself love and comfort.
Maybe the love and comfort that you needed when you were going through that challenging experience.
See if you can offer that to yourself in this moment.
And if you're having a hard time comforting yourself in this moment,
Imagine comforting a younger you or a child or your favorite baby animal.
Imagine offering it love and comfort for what it's experiencing in this moment.
You might even say something comforting and encouraging to yourself.
Like,
You're worthy even when you make mistakes.
I'm here for you.
I love you.
You're worthy.
I believe in you.
May you be happy.
May you feel love.
May you be at peace.
This is a challenging experience and it does not make you unworthy.
Whatever feels encouraging and comforting,
I encourage you to offer that to yourself.
To offer yourself that love and comfort.
When you're ready,
You can let your hand fall and take a few more deep breaths.
As we wrap up this meditation,
I want you to notice again how your body is feeling.
Check in with yourself.
Notice any physical sensations.
And then you might notice any sounds that you hear.
And when you're ready,
You can open your eyes and look around the space that you're in.
Notice that you're here.
The emotions did not overtake you.
And just check in with yourself.
How did that feel?
How did it feel to allow yourself to tune in to the physical sensations associated with the emotions you experienced related to a challenging experience?
How did it feel to allow those feelings to be there?
And what was it like to offer yourself some love and comfort?
I hope it was helpful.
I hope it was calming and grounding.
I encourage you to return to this meditation as often as would be helpful for you.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
