Hello and welcome.
I'm so glad that you've chosen to spend the time to meditate with me here today.
We are going to be doing a meditation called Affectionate Breathing,
And it is the first core meditation in the Mindful Self-Compassion course.
So let's start by taking a deep breath in,
Letting it go,
And getting ourselves settled and comfortable in a position that we can hold for the next 15 minutes.
And then let your eyes gently close,
Partially or fully.
Now let's take a few slow,
Easy breaths,
Just releasing any unnecessary tension in your body.
And if you like,
Offering yourself some soothing or supportive touch.
We do this as a reminder that we're not only bringing awareness,
But affectionate awareness to our breathing and to ourselves.
And know that you can either let your hands rest at any point,
Or offer yourself soothing and supportive touch at any moment during this meditation when you feel that it is needed.
So just beginning to notice your breathing in your body,
Feeling your body breathe in,
And feeling your body breathe out.
Perhaps noticing how your body is nourished on the in-breath,
And how your body relaxes on the out-breath.
It does this all the time,
And we're going to notice it all the time.
And we often don't notice our breath nourishing us,
Relaxing us,
Bringing us life.
Breathing in and breathing out.
Just letting your body breathe you.
Noticing how there's nothing you need to do.
Your breath breathes on its own.
Your body breathes on its own.
Just noticing how that happens all on its own without any effort.
Now noticing the rhythm of your breathing.
The flowing in,
The flowing out.
Tuning in to the rhythm of your breathing.
Perhaps inclining your attention towards your breathing as you might be a child or dear,
Dear friend.
Turning towards your breath with curiosity,
With tenderness,
With affection.
And you might find that within just a few moments or two,
Your mind will start to wander.
Wander away from the breath.
Just remember this is very natural.
This is what was built to do.
So there's nothing to worry about.
Just simply notice that your mind has wandered and very gently,
Very lovingly,
In the way you might shepherd a small child back to where they're meant to be,
Very tenderly guiding your attention back to your breath.
Feeling your whole body subtly moving with the breath.
Notice how your breath rocks your body,
Almost like you might rock a small child to sleep.
Or it might feel like the waves of the ocean drying in and pulling out just over and over and over again.
This very steady,
Very gentle rhythm.
Noticing how your body moves with your breath,
Allowing your whole body to be gently rocked and caressed,
Internally caressed by your breathing.
And if you like,
At any point,
Even giving yourself over to your breathing,
Become your breath,
Feeling that that's all there is.
That's all there is,
Is the breath.
Just breathing,
Being breathing.
And now gently releasing your attention on your breathing,
Just sitting quietly in your own experience,
Allowing yourself to feel whatever you're feeling and to be just as you are.
And before we close our meditation for today,
I'd like to read you a poem.
It's by a poet named Jane O'Shea,
And it's called My Balm.
I close my eyes and sigh,
And here I am lying in the hammock of my heart,
Moving gently with the soft air of my breath.
When I fall from my head past my words,
I'm caught lovingly in the hammock of my heart and rocked to its rhythmic beat.
It is my peace,
My rest,
My quiet,
Cradled in the hammock of my heart.
It is constant.
It is safe to be held in the hammock of my heart.
No place to go,
Nothing to do,
Nobody to please.
It is my altar,
My blessing,
My balm,
Here in the hammock of my heart.
Take a moment to honor and appreciate yourself for taking this time.
Thank you for being here and meditating with me today.
