A Meditation For Self-Acceptance

This practice starts with a full-body scan to become present and gently guides you through finding self-love and acceptance. This practice will bring you calm during uncertain times and help you love yourself fully.

Transcript

Welcome to a 30-minute meditation practice on self-acceptance.

We will walk through a full body scan and offer up a mantra at our heart center.

Let's begin.

Take a deep breath in.

Open mouth exhale.

Deep breath in.

Open mouth exhale.

And if you're noticing any tension,

You know,

Maybe drop that off or roll out your neck or take any movements before we settle into stillness.

Being mindful and intentional and then giving yourself the grace that sitting for 30 minutes there might be some physical sensations that come up and to be with them.

Right?

So detaching ourselves from the emotions that come up from the physicalness.

It's all a practice.

Go ahead and settle into the natural rhythm of your breath in and out of your nose.

And notice your stature.

Feel your shoulders in space.

Are you leaning more forwards or backwards?

Even ever so slightly.

Can you bring your shoulders so that they are stacked right on top of your hips?

Creating this one long line from your hips up to the crown of your head,

Allowing your breath to flow naturally without any obstacles.

And if you notice throughout your practice that your posture shifts,

That's totally normal and that's part of your practice.

Just coming back to center.

Bring your hands to your heart and fingertips to touch and a little space between your palms.

And then bring your hands into your lap resting naturally.

So just fingertips are touching.

For me sometimes my thumbs don't quite rest very easily.

So whatever this looks like for you is okay.

And now bring your awareness to your hands.

Noticing the temperature of your hands,

The temperature of your fingers.

Either they're warm or cool.

And as your awareness goes to one specific spot on your body,

Maybe you feel energy go there as well.

This can be in a form of warmth or tingling or just a new sensation in your hands.

And allowing your fingertips to hold your awareness.

And with your awareness on your hands,

Can you feel the gentle rise and fall of your breath?

Knowing that this intuitive movement,

This intuitive function of your body is always there to support you.

And keeping your mindfulness on your breath,

Bring your awareness to your forearms.

The space between your wrist and your elbow.

There might not be a lot of sensation here.

That's okay.

Just feeling this part of your body in space.

The space that it takes up.

Maybe acknowledging the function that it has in your body.

And bring your awareness to your upper arm bones.

From your elbows to your shoulders.

Notice the skin,

The muscle.

All the way into the bone.

And now bring your awareness to your shoulders.

Notice if there's tension that you're carrying with you this week or this year.

Can you soften?

Make a piece of ice turning to water.

And bring your awareness to your throat,

Your neck.

Thinking and acknowledging the strength that it takes to hold up your head.

And going inward here,

Noticing that there are words that are stuck.

If there is something that you've been wanting to say,

A conversation you've been meaning to have.

So this area of your body might feel tight and restricted.

That mind-body connection is so powerful.

And if I mentioned that and your shoulders became tight again,

Soften down.

Nothing to fix or figure out right now.

Move your awareness up to your jaw.

Let some space come between the top teeth and the bottom teeth.

Maybe even a slight space between the top teeth and the bottom teeth.

And then just let your awareness come back to your jaw.

Maybe even a slight space between your lips as there's no effort to hold them closed.

Maybe your tongue falls away from the roof of your mouth.

Maybe your tongue falls away from the roof of your mouth.

And bring your awareness to your nostrils and your sinuses.

Feeling the gentle ebb and flow of your breath.

Noticing the temperature of the air as it comes in through your nostrils.

It's cooler.

And as it leaves,

It's a bit warmer.

And shift your awareness to your eyes.

Let them remain gently closed without any clenching.

A beautiful awareness that you are still awake and present and here in your physical body in stillness.

Bring your awareness to your forehead,

Your third eye center.

Your seed of inherent wisdom.

This wisdom,

Your intuition is here for you even when you don't notice it.

This practice tunes you into listening.

Listening to your intuition and trusting it.

Can you soften your forehead?

And with that softening in it,

Can you remove judgment?

Remove judgment of yourself and of others.

This belief that every person is doing the best that they can with what they have.

And bring your awareness to the crown of your head.

Feeling your breath move up and down your spine,

Up and down your body fully.

And now bring your awareness to your heart center,

Your chest.

Maintaining that softness in the upper half of your body.

Noticing the energy that goes to your heart when you focus your attention there.

Maybe you feel your heart beating.

I offer up a mantra for you today.

I am enough.

The mantra of self-acceptance and self-love.

Allow that mantra to land into your heart and believe it as true.

And bring your awareness to your feet.

Noticing where your feet are landed on the ground or on your couch or your bed.

And notice the physical sensation.

Notice your body,

Your body is your grounding soft or hard,

Cold or warm.

And let's focus on the soles of your feet.

Allow your energy to focus on the soles of your feet.

Have gratitude for your feet and where they have carried you.

The places that you have gone near and far.

Without your mind wandering into memory,

Allow that sensation,

The emotions,

To land in your body.

Present moment,

Fondly remembering the emotions of where you've been.

Knowing that your journey is unique and it has made you who you are today.

And for that,

I am grateful.

Bring your awareness to your calf,

Your shin.

And noticing if there's sensation here or not.

And let it be.

Let it be exactly that.

No need to force a sensation.

Just focus your awareness.

Bring your awareness to your knees.

And awareness to your thighs,

Your upper leg bones.

Strength,

Stability,

Without any attachment.

Just acknowledge any sensations.

And bring your awareness to your hips.

Notice where you are seated in space.

Maybe check in with your physical alignment.

Are you rooted from sit bones to the crown of your head?

And allow that breath to flow naturally from your feet all the way to the crown of your head.

And bring your awareness to your diaphragm.

Seeing that breath as it fills your body and expands and contracts.

And then allow your mind to go to one part of your body that can be held the most energy for you this morning.

Maybe it was your fingertips touching or your heart or your throat.

Whatever held your awareness and maybe brought up some physical sensation or emotional sensation.

And sit and just be with that sensation.

And allow it to shift and change and just create what it naturally creates while maintaining your breath.

And when your mind drifts off into thought,

Each time you notice that a thought has come in,

That is a triumph.

The noticing.

That is a victory.

So notice it and then come back to your sensation,

Your body,

Your breath.

Always an opportunity to come back to your mind.

To your mantra,

I am enough.

Take about one more minute in this focused awareness.

Your focused breathing.

Feeling whatever sensation you feel in your body to just be.

There's nothing to do.

If you're noticing some pin prickles or falling asleep of toes or achy back,

Remember that you are not your sensations.

Removing emotion from your physical body.

And now bring your awareness six inches above the crown of your head,

Out of your physical body.

And let your mind wander.

Sometimes we notice that when we give our mind freedom,

It actually becomes more focused.

Or maybe it wanders.

Just be in your experience for a few moments.

Gently bring your hands together at heart center.

Acknowledging yourself for taking time out of your day for your mind and body connection.

Your mental wellness.

Notice that this will impact your day and the people that you encounter.

And honor that,

Honor this practice as providing that for you.

Interlace your fingers and press open palms forward and up.

Taking some stretches,

Some movements.

Namaste.