Welcome to your practice.
Find a comfortable position.
For today,
You may choose to sit or lie down.
If it feels safe,
Close your eyes or simply allow your gaze to soften.
Notice the feeling of your body as you come closer to stillness.
Notice everything that is part of your awareness—the sounds of the room,
The feel of your body,
Sensations,
Emotions.
See if you can take it all in with a tender gaze.
Notice what is arising in the mind and the body.
Notice where you feel your breath move.
Maybe it's the chest or the belly or the back.
Notice how with each inhale,
The full circumference of the body expands with breath.
And with each exhale,
Everything softens back to center.
Take a few deeper,
Slower breaths,
Exaggerating that movement,
Filling up the fullness of the lungs as they uplift the heart.
And then watching it all soften back to center.
Placing one or both hands over the heart center,
Offering yourself a gesture of tenderness.
And notice what arises,
What it feels like to offer yourself a gesture of kindness,
And what it feels like to receive this gesture of kindness.
If there is any resistance,
Just notice.
See if you can allow whatever arises without judgment.
Notice your breath moving your hand or hands.
And as you feel into this tenderness,
Asking yourself,
What is it that I wish from the depths of my heart for myself in this moment?
Noticing whatever arises without judgment.
Maybe it's peace or freedom.
Maybe it's happiness.
Or allow this idea to become a simple phrase.
May I find happiness.
May I feel free.
May I hold on to hope.
Whispering this simple phrase silently to yourself.
Imagining that you could send this phrase directly into the center of your heart.
Maybe imagining this phrase like a ray of light illuminating the center of your heart.
Notice what it feels like to offer yourself this kindness,
This tender phrase of compassion.
Taking another moment to breathe in this offering to yourself.
To allow this light to illuminate your heart.
Noticing how the body responds.
Maybe there is a softening,
An opening,
A greater sense of ease.
With your hand or hands over your heart,
Find some gratitude for yourself,
For showing up in this way,
For being courageous of heart,
And offering yourself compassion.
As you feel ready,
Slowly reorient to the space around you,
The feeling of your body,
The sounds of the room.
And as you feel ready,
Slowly blink the eyes open and closed a few times,
Or lift your gaze,
Taking in the space around you.
Notice the quality of your experience,
Having offered yourself this kindness.
As you move throughout your day,
See if you can connect with this feeling,
With this tenderness towards yourself.
Thank you for spending this time with me.
Thank you for listening.
