Loving kindness meditation when caring for someone with dementia and before we get started I'd like to encourage you to do this meditation in a familiar environment so make a conscious choice if this is the right moment and the right place to do this meditation and then when you're ready take up a comfortable seated position with a straight spine rolling your shoulders backwards opening the heart then relaxing the shoulders back down when you're ready gently close your eyes and then notice how you are feeling in this moment the body and mind and take free conscious breaths in and out just following your natural breath at the nostrils or in the belly and then pull up a mental picture of your loved one with dementia see their face hear their voice and then work towards imagining a recent challenging situation now if you do this practice for the very first time please just choose a mildly challenging situation to practice you can repeat this practice again in the future and let yourself be drawn back into this situation recall your thoughts your feelings your action tendencies and from here we then bring our attention to the loved one and start considering how they may have felt in this situation what were their thoughts how were they feeling in which action tendencies did you observe?
Can you feel you have a good impression or how this situation may have been for them?
You can repeat the following phrases after me directed at this loved one who is living with dementia and you may choose to speak these sentences out loud or just in your mind let's start I love you I share with you I understand you I see you I learn with you I give to you I receive from you I am grateful for you Notice what happens in you when you speak these sentences Allow your thoughts to run freely and allow any emotions to be no need to change anything and when you're ready let's consciously create some distance by focusing on our breath inhale and count to three hold exhale on the count of three as well and fold inhaling through the nose exhaling through the mouth and let me guide you through the first breath breathing in one two three hold and exhale one two three hold continue in your own tempo and when you're ready on the exhale you may let out sighs or make the sound of ah so normal breath in through the nose and then on the exhale releasing what you can continue this practice for as long as you like feel free to pause the audio when you're ready bring back your focus to yourself see yourself for all that you are acknowledge everything that you do send love to yourself and again repeat after me but now directing these words at yourself I love you I share with you I understand you I see you I learn with you I give to you I receive from you and I am so grateful for you let's chant young three times in a deep voice feel the vibration in the throat down into the heart and I'll demonstrate first normal inhale return three times when you're finished return to normal breathing and when you're ready place the palms of your hands together and start rubbing the palms together creating heat the faster you go the more heat you will create and when both palms feel warm put them on top of each other on the heart rubbing the hands together once more creating that heat again and then placing the hand on the eyes and in this position gently open your eyes you may want to blink a couple of times thank you for practicing with me today Namaste
