Hello I'm Kate,
Welcome to this mindfulness meditation on recognizing your needs.
Settle yourself into your favorite meditation position wherever you are comfortable.
Become physically still.
Resist the urge to fidget for the next few minutes.
Take a lovely big deep breath in,
Fill up,
Pause at the top,
Exhale slowly through your mouth,
Softly sigh it out,
Close your eyes.
All of your focus now on the feeling of your breath entering and leaving your body.
As you inhale deeply through your nose,
Exhale slowly through your nose.
Keep that nice deep rhythm going.
When you begin tuning in mindfully to your life experience you may also start to notice your difficulties and struggles.
Part of mindfulness is recognizing what you need in these moments and this exercise offers a way to pause and look at your needs in a given moment.
So let's begin.
Bring to mind a recent situation that you found difficult or painful and without falling too far into the story,
Acknowledge how this experience feels in the present moment.
Examine the memory of the experience and ask yourself what you needed in that moment.
Focus on general emotional needs like compassion,
Understanding,
Insight and so on.
In this difficult experience what would have helped you?
When a need is revealed say to yourself I needed sympathy or I needed patience and continue to tune in to any other needs that come to mind.
Pause and acknowledge each one.
Now turn your awareness to your experience in the present.
Ask yourself what you need right now.
Let go of thoughts about goals,
Stories,
Ticking things off your list or pleasing other people.
Focus on your deeper needs of self-care and fulfillment.
Wrapping up this exercise reflect on your capacity to meet your needs.
Are there any needs you have that are not within your power to fulfill?
Who can you turn to for help with these?
Always offer yourself compassion and patience as you work through this.
Always give yourself permission to unplug and regroup without feeling guilty.
You can't be there for others if you don't first take care of yourself.
Make time for you.
When you're ready open your eyes.
Your external world awaits and take as long as you need before returning to it.
Thanks for trusting me with your time and congratulations on taking this step towards your self-care.
