Welcome to this loving kindness meditation.
Inviting you now to get into your comfortable position,
Whatever that may look like for you.
I'll invite you now to close your eyes.
And we'll start by taking a long,
Slow,
Deep breath in,
And then gently let that go.
Feel free to adjust your body anywhere you're feeling any discomfort.
Just allow yourself to get into the most comfortable position.
And we'll take one more long,
Slow,
Deep breath in,
And exhale that through the mouth,
Focusing now on returning your breathing to its normal pace and length,
Allowing that breath to come in and out of you just easily,
Freely,
And lovingly.
Noticing on feeling your breath enter through your nose and exit through your mouth,
Focusing on pushing that belly up as you inhale and letting it flatten as you release,
And zooming out a little bit,
Noticing how your body feels.
Are you holding tension anywhere in your shoulders,
Your back,
Or your jaw,
Just allowing all that tension to release now?
And in this moment,
You are weightless.
You are light.
There is no right,
And there is no wrong.
There is only now.
In our loving kindness meditation,
We'll start with some self-love affirmations.
And self-love,
Much like meditation,
Is a practice.
It can take time.
But be gentle with yourself if these affirmations don't feel authentic or genuine to you yet.
They will.
And feel free to allow any emotions to come up.
Acknowledge them with no judgment,
And treat them like clouds just passing by.
Don't worry if your mind starts to wander.
Just gently bring your attention back to your breathing,
That feeling of it entering through your nose and exiting through your mouth.
Now repeat the following self-love affirmations slowly and kindly to yourself,
Not guided by others' expectations.
I choose the path that is right for me.
I choose to be kind to myself.
I'm allowed to have needs and feelings and express them.
I choose to harvest positive thoughts about myself.
In all ways,
I am already enough.
Instead of worrying what others could think,
I choose to live my life for me.
I love how much I've grown.
My own approval is worth more than the approval of others.
I allow myself to feel all feelings.
Taking time for self-care is not the same as being selfish.
When I look back on past versions of myself,
I feel warmth and gratitude.
I love who I used to be,
Who I am,
And who I am becoming.
I love myself.
But if I want to change,
That's OK.
I walk through the world feeling love by myself,
By others,
And giving love.
I am allowed to set boundaries.
My voice deserves to be heard.
My feelings deserve to be shared.
I am worthy of forgiveness.
I choose to forgive myself.
I notice what feels like an obligation in my life and release myself.
I choose to be with people who make me feel better and those who don't have permission to drift away.
Although I've made mistakes,
They don't define me.
I have something of value to give the world just by being me.
May I be well.
May I be healthy.
May I be at peace.
Now we will take some time to send loving kindness to others.
I want you to take a moment to bring to your mind someone that is very important to you.
I want you to feel yourself giving them love,
Whether that is through touch,
Like imagining a hug,
Or holding a hand,
Or through expression of what you would say and how you would say it.
But in this moment,
Think about how important they are to you.
I want you to take some time now doing that to as many people as come to mind for you,
From friends,
Family,
A significant other,
Someone who you know is struggling in life right now,
Or maybe it's a stranger in your community.
One by one,
Bring them to mind and offer them love.
Now,
Whether you had one person or many people in that time frame,
Repeat after me in your mind to them.
May you be well.
May you be healthy.
May you be at peace.
Taking another long,
Slow,
Deep breath in and gently let that go,
I share a poem written by the author Atticus.
There is a place I know,
A garden in a forest,
Where the trees have parted enough to let the light in and the flowers to grow.
In a meadow with walls of trees on every side and a mossy floor where the flowers pour through and the dust rises mixed with the sun's rays and sparkle beams up the blues of sky where a single bird flies alone.
This place is you within me.
It is my home.
Starting to bring some awareness back into this moment,
Noticing how your body feels,
Your mind,
Your emotions,
With your reminder,
Whatever you need,
Whenever you need it,
It's already inside of you.
You can start now to wiggle your fingers and your toes and begin to notice the room around you.
When you are ready and only then,
You can begin to shift and move your body,
Taking a moment to close out your meditation by putting your hands in prayer mode at your heart center.
With your eyes still closed,
Genuinely give yourself thanks for taking time to do this meditation and for sending love and kindness to others.
When you feel complete,
You can begin to open your eyes and take on your day.
Namaste.
