Welcome to this self-compassion practice for healthcare workers.
This practice is adapted from the work of Dr.
Kristin Neff.
I'd like to invite you now to find a comfortable position seated in a chair or on a couch.
Hands resting gently in your lap,
Feet resting on the floor about hips width apart and whenever you feel ready allowing your eyes to close softly.
I invite you now to begin this practice with three long slow deep breaths and then allowing your breath to fall back into its natural depth and rhythm just simply allowing it to breathe itself allowing yourself to notice that gentle rise and fall of the breath and rolling quality in and out not needing to force it or control it in any way simply noticing that as one breath ends the next one naturally comes and as you allow your awareness to rest with this gentle in and out of each breath I invite you just to imagine a time where you've been with a patient perhaps it was quite a stressful experience for you perhaps you felt quite burnt out by it I know you might have had many of these experiences I just simply want you to bring to mind one just recalling in this moment how it was for that other person your patient perhaps they might have been struggling fearful or overwhelmed and now allowing yourself to feel what it felt like for yourself in that moment what it felt like to be with your patient any empathic pain confusion or stress you might have felt just noticing how you hold that in your body and where it arises for you right now and as you allow yourself to notice those feelings arising within you I'm just going to say some words that I want you to repeat in your mind everyone is on their own life's journey I'm not the cause of this person's pain or suffering and nor is it completely within my control to make it go away even though I wish I could moments like these are difficult to bear and yet I will try to help if I can and as you allow those words just to move through you noticing any tension or tightness that recalling this event brings up within you and then coming back to the breath in and out again and again as one breath ends the next one naturally follows now I just invite you to notice your inhalation and as you breathe in imagining you're breathing in compassion for yourself soothing any pain that recalling this event might bring up within you reminding yourself that we can't always help even though we wish we could breathing in compassion for any empathic pain that you feel any feelings of burnout or struggle each breath in filling your body that warm healing light of compassion and then bringing your awareness to your exhalation visualize with each exhalation holding that patient in your mind's eye and as you breathe out you're filling their body with compassion validating their pain and their struggle validating your desire to heal even when it's outside of your control and now bring the breath together breathing in for you breathing out for them breathing in for you breathing out for your patience you can't exhale without inhaling first you can't care for others without caring for yourself first each breath a reminder to show yourself compassion and kindness breathing in compassion kindness care for yourself breathing out compassion kindness care for others and if at any point your mind begins to wander just simply guide it back to the next breath each breath is a moment that you can come back and show yourself kindness every breath is a new chance it's never too late to begin again there's always a next breath a next moment you can always come back and as we come to the end of this short meditation I just invite you to sit with whatever feelings are arising within you right now notice where they are in your body notice what other feelings or thoughts might come from those sensations and then gently come back to the breath it doesn't matter how many times we drift off course or what's going on for us the breath is always there waiting you can always begin again breathing in kindness compassion and love for ourselves breathing out kindness compassion and love for those around us slowly bringing some movement back into your body wiggling your fingers and toes and whenever you feel ready allowing your eyes to open slowly
