Self-Kindness Meditation - 20 min Daily Insight

Hello and welcome to the Daily Insight.

My name is Bodhi Paksha and in today's meditation we'll be focusing on being kinder to ourselves.

Wishing you a self-compassionate period of practice.

So as you're settling into your meditation posture,

Just call to mind what would it mean to sit with kindness.

Perhaps it means not holding yourself rigidly and allowing the body to be at ease.

But it may also mean sitting with a sense of pause and dignity.

Letting the body be upright and open so that you can have an open heart and so that you can breathe freely.

And I just invite you to bring your attention to your eyes and as you do so,

Recall what it's like to look with love.

So we've all had this experience of looking with tender love,

Perhaps at a child or a lover or even a pet.

So as you call some memory of looking in that way to mind,

Just being aware of whatever qualities arise around the eyes,

Perhaps elsewhere in the body.

Just allowing those qualities to persist as you bring your attention into the body,

Observing this body breathing,

Observing the rise and fall of the breathing with a sense of tenderness and appreciation and warmth.

Sometimes there's discomfort present,

Emotional discomfort like sadness or anxiety,

Sometimes physical discomfort like a sore back or an aching knee.

And just seeing if you can regard those experiences with warmth and kindness.

They're just parts of you that are suffering and they need your compassionate attention.

They long for acceptance,

To be included,

To be cared for.

Observing the breathing with kindness,

Observing any uncomfortable feelings or painful sensations in the body with kindness.

Letting kindness permeate your entire field of awareness,

So that whatever you become aware of,

You become aware of in a kind way.

So this body that you're observing shows up for you every day.

It's here to serve you and it always does so to the best of its abilities,

Even if it's in pain or sick.

So what kind of friend does that?

Isn't this amazing?

So let's just spend some time saying thank you to the body.

You can be aware of your feet and say thank you.

Actually articulate those words clearly in your mind.

Thank you for serving me.

And your legs,

Saying thank you to them as well.

And as you're noticing the legs,

Just observing the qualities of the sensations there,

Bringing your attention into the hips,

Just being aware of whatever sensations are arising there and thanking them.

You can say thank you to your spine and just bearing in mind that any part of the body that's in pain,

Largely that pain response is your body trying to heal itself.

It's trying to let you know that it needs attention.

And that inflammatory response is your body literally trying to bring itself back into health.

Saying thank you to your ribcage,

Your shoulders,

Your arms and your hands,

Still regarding each part of the body with kindness.

The same way that you would look upon a sleeping child or a pet,

With tenderness and warmth and appreciation.

Thanking your neck,

Your head.

You can say thank you to your inner organs,

Your heart,

Your lungs.

They've been functioning your whole life,

Keeping you alive.

Saying thank you to your intestines,

Your liver,

Kidneys and other internal organs.

Saying thank you to your senses,

The sense of hearing,

For example.

We tend to take our senses for granted until they're not working as well as they used to.

It's such a blessing to be able to hear.

Thanking your eyes,

A sense of smell and taste.

Being aware of your sense of touch,

Wherever it might manifest.

And saying thank you.

Just being grateful for the ability to be aware,

For being an aware human being with the capacity to be mindful and loving.

And so saying thank you,

Simply for experiencing.

And when you hear the bell,

Bringing the sense of a kindly gaze and of gratitude into the world.