Self-Compassion Break

And beginning by finding a comfortable position,

Either sitting or lying down.

You might like to close your eyes or find a steady gaze at a point in front.

And whatever feels best for you right now.

And allowing yourself to start to settle.

Taking a slow,

Steady breath in and a long,

Gentle breath out.

Arriving here in this moment exactly as you are.

Connected to your tender heart,

Your soothing breath.

Allowing yourself to really soften into the experience of the present moment.

And when you're ready,

Take a moment to acknowledge that you're going through something really hard right now.

Whether you're feeling heartache,

Stress,

Sadness,

Frustration,

Or something else.

Simply allowing yourself to recognize that this is a moment of suffering.

And as best as you can,

Seeing if you can offer yourself a few words of recognition.

You might like to say to yourself in your mind,

This hurts.

This is really hard right now.

Or I'm really struggling.

And as you soften into the experience of receiving these words,

Continuing to breathe gently.

Reminding yourself that you're not alone in this moment of suffering.

That difficulty,

Pain,

And uncertainty are part of the shared human experience.

You might even like to say to yourself,

It's okay to feel this way.

Many people go through this.

How human of me to feel this way.

Perhaps you might like to place your hand on your heart if it's not already there.

Letting those feelings of care really stream through your fingers.

If you prefer,

You might like to imagine someone who deeply cares for you.

A wise friend,

A loving parent,

A supportive guide.

Placing a hand on your shoulder,

Offering warmth and understanding.

And when you're ready,

You can either imagine yourself or this person offering you some simple words of comfort.

You might say to yourself in your mind,

I'm here for you.

It's going to be okay.

I'm so sorry.

Letting these words sink in as you softly continue to breathe.

Breathing in kindness.

Breathing out judgment.

Breathing in support.

Breathing out self-criticism.

Knowing that just for this moment,

There's nothing to fix.

Nothing to figure out.

Nothing to do other than simply meet yourself in this moment with tenderness and care.

Remaining in this beautiful energy of kindness and self-compassion for the final few moments of this practice.

And when you're ready,

Slowly beginning to draw your breath in a little bit deeper once again.

Finding small movements throughout your body.

Beginning to make your way out of this practice slowly and mindfully.

Returning to a more alert and awake state once again.