Welcome.
Find a quiet place to sit or stand and do what you can to prevent distractions.
Allow yourself to be comfortable and practice full,
Deep,
Natural breaths.
In meditation practices,
We can hear a lot about compassion for others.
Yet it's arguably just as important,
If not more important,
To practice compassion for yourself.
This meditation is aimed at generating self-compassion and specifically stimulating your own body's natural cuddle hormone,
Oxytocin.
This is designed to be done by yourself,
But I will certainly make more with different applications,
So stay tuned for that.
I'd like to begin with a quote from Wilfred Peterson.
The art of being yourself at your best is the art of unfolding yourself into the personality you want to be.
Learn to love yourself,
Be gentle with yourself,
To forgive yourself,
For only as we have the right attitude toward ourselves,
Can we have the right attitude toward others.
Self-compassion and self-nurture are essential aspects of mindfulness,
Especially if we want to move from spaces of self-harm into spaces of self-care.
When we receive or give physical affection,
We release a hormone called oxytocin.
Oxytocin is a hormone secreted by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland,
A pea-sized structure at the base of the brain.
It's sometimes known as the cuddle hormone or the love hormone because it's released when people snuggle up or are bonding socially.
Even playing with your dog or cat can cause an oxytocin surge.
In scientific research,
Oxytocin has also proved beneficial when it's used to heal memories of bonding gone bad,
Such as in cases where men have poor relationships with their mothers.
Also,
Interesting to note is that oxytocin can also make people less accepting of people they see as outsiders or possible threats.
In other words,
Whether oxytocin makes you feel cuddly or suspicious of others depends on your mindset and the environment.
I found it particularly interesting how oxytocin production is controlled by a positive feed back loop.
This mechanism allows the release of the oxytocin hormone when a trigger occurs.
The hormone then causes an action in the body,
Such as the release of milk to the breast when a baby is suckling or the start of labor contractions,
Which signals more production of oxytocin.
The feedback cycle continues until the action,
Such as childbirth or feeding the baby,
Is complete.
Oxytocin soothes painful states of being and calms stressful ones,
So it only takes some imagination to see it can pop up in many different situations.
My thought behind this was,
Why not create a meditation practice around a situation where we can play an active part in releasing our own oxytocin?
As a result,
You can do this meditation whenever and wherever you want to,
And it will allow you to bring about a more expansive quality of love,
Care,
Comfort,
And relaxation.
Let's start by simply listening to the sound of my voice and allowing it to guide you through this practice.
Breathe in,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe in,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe out,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Breathe naturally and use your belly to pull in and push out the air.
If you watch a baby breathe,
You'll notice it naturally breathes with its belly,
Not just its chest.
Chest breathing signals tense,
Shallow breathing.
Allow your belly to expand and contract as you breathe.
In with the rising of the belly and out with the falling of the belly.
Feel whatever part or parts of your body that are in contact with the ground or floor.
Can you feel yourself being supported by the ground?
Make a mental note of the different points where your body is touching the ground or floor right now.
Allow your shoulders to relax and rest into the supportive surface beneath you.
When you're ready,
Gently wrap your arms around your upper body and give yourself a hug.
It may be a gentle embrace or a tight one.
There's no right or wrong way to do this.
It is simply you embracing you.
Find what kind of hug you most enjoy right now.
Do it however you like.
Feel free to also stroke your arms or even your face.
There's many different ways to touch.
Soft.
Firm.
Slow.
Fast.
Short.
Long.
Loose.
Tight.
Constant.
Moving.
So explore this for the next few moments and just get in touch with embracing yourself.
Allow this time to be for you.
Give yourself some love.
Some physical affection.
Some touch.
If you feel like moving into a different position,
Feel free to do so.
Just allow your body to speak and give what it wants right now.
This is opening up the communication pathways for self-compassion and healing.
You are nurturing yourself in whatever way you want.
This is opening up the communication pathways for self-compassion and healing.
When you are ready,
Let your arms and feet touch the ground.
When you are ready,
Let your arms drop back down again to your sides.
Breathe in.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Breathe out.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Allow your belly to expand.
Let your arms drop back down again to your sides.
Breathe in.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Breathe out.
Two.
Three.
Four.
Let your arms expand and contract as you breathe.
In with the rising of the belly.
And out with the falling of the belly.
How does your body feel right now?
Do you feel more relaxed now than you did at the beginning?
Were there any hindrances that came up during the practice?
Any resistance?
If so,
We'll be dealing with them in another meditation of this series,
But for now,
Just place your attention on your entire body and listen for what your body has to say after receiving your touch.
Okay.
Thank you for being a part of this meditation practice with me.
You can do this several times a day or just whenever you feel like.
I'd like to end this practice with a quote by John O'Donoghue.
When you are compassionate with yourself,
You trust in your soul,
Which you let guide your life.
Your soul knows the geography of your destiny better than you do.
Namaste.
