Kindness To Self (and A Friend) Meditation

In this guided meditation, I invite you to offer kindness to yourself and to a friend or loved one. This practice will support you in cultivating self-compassion and compassion for others. You will first offer kindness to yourself before being invited to offer kindness to a friend. If you find it difficult to offer yourself kindness, you may wish to instead offer kindness to a friend first before directing it to yourself. This practice is accessible and available to you anytime, anywhere.
This meditation track lasts for 9 minutes. If you're in a hurry, you could try one of my shorter tracks instead. This guided meditation has a silent background. If you prefer background music, please choose my Kindness to Self (and a Friend) with Music track instead.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash.

Transcript

Kindness to Self and a Friend Meditation. And important notes before we begin. Being invited to practice kindness to ourselves can sometimes bring up resistance or challenging emotions if we're not used to being kind to ourselves. So I invite you to take this practice gently. So as we begin, Settling into a comfortable posture. You can do this meditation seated, Standing or lying down. Whatever is most comfortable for you. And if it's comfortable, You may wish to meditate with your eyes closed, Or if you prefer to keep them open, Then just gently gazing into your lap or finding a soft point to focus on. Just to focus for your attention. And taking a moment to notice the contact between your body and the surface beneath you. If you're sitting, You might notice your back against the chair, Your buttocks on the seat and your feet grounded on the floor. If you're lying down, Perhaps noticing the whole length of your body in contact with the surface beneath you. And if you're standing, You might notice your hands resting against your body, Or perhaps you're holding onto a chair or another surface. Simply taking a moment to settle. And let your body relax and release. Feeling the weight of your body sinking into gravity. This invisible force that is cradling and holding you. And I invite you to take your attention to your breathing as you settle. Noticing the physical sensations of your breathing. The gentle rhythm of the in-breath and the out-breath. Noticing where the sensations are greatest in your body. Noticing the breath in the front and the back and the sides of the body. As you feel the movement of the inhale and the exhale. Perhaps noticing your belly rising and falling. Or your chest expanding and subsiding. Or perhaps the rise and fall of your shoulders. Just taking a moment to tune in to these sensations. And allowing your body to gently release. And I invite you to bring an attitude of kindness and compassion to yourself and whatever is in your experience right now. And using your breath. Imagine that you're breathing in kindness. Until the breath is completely suffused with kindness. And that as you breathe out, That kindly breath. Permeates your whole body. So you're breathing in kindness into your breath. And as you breathe out, It's saturating your whole body. Gently washing kindness all over you. Perhaps noticing the kindness flowing from your chest. Through your torso. Your legs and your feet. And also flowing upwards to your shoulders and all along the length of your arms to your hands. And from your neck up to your face and your head. Just feeling this gentle, Kindly breath. Flowing throughout your body. As you breathe in. And you breathe out. Is kindly breath. Suffusing your whole body. I invite you to bring an attitude of gentle curiosity and kindness to whatever you're experiencing. As you feel this kindly breath flowing throughout your body. And if your mind wanders, That's perfectly normal. Your mind is made for thinking. Simply noticing the thought is a moment of awareness and a moment of mindfulness. That is the practice. When you notice that your mind has wandered, Simply acknowledging that and gently bringing your attention back to the sensation of breathing. Back to the flow of kindly breath throughout your body. And I invite you, If you wish, To include a friend. A loved one or pet, Someone who you have an uncomplicated relationship with in your meditation. Once you've brought kindness to yourself. Simply bring to mind this person or animal. And allow the flow of kindness. To include your friend or loved one too. The kindly breath can flow around your friend or loved one as well as yourself. Simply feeling that kindly breath. Suffusing your whole body and flowing over your loved ones. As you sit together. Just taking a moment. To feel that kindly breath surrounding you both. And if the mind wanders again, Simply note this and return to the kindly breath. Realizing that every time you're aware that your mind has wandered is a magic moment of awareness. Just bringing your attention back to the kindly breath. Flowing over you and your friend. And then taking a moment to expand your awareness. Gently noticing the contact of your body with the surface beneath you. Perhaps noticing the space around your body. Any signs around you? Any smells? And if you've got your eyes closed. . . You might notice the light on your eyelids. And when you're ready, You can gently blink them open and come back to the space that you're practicing in. Just taking a moment. To come back to your environment. And take with you this attitude of kindness and self-compassion into the rest of your day. As we bring this practice to a close.