This is a guided meditation for cultivating self-love.
Take a comfortable seat,
Sit tall,
Let your heart be broad,
Your shoulders,
Shrug them up to your ears tightly,
Squeeze them,
And then just let them firmly drop.
Do this one more time,
Squeeze your shoulders up to your ears,
And then this time,
Roll them back around and down,
Your shoulder blades gently squeezing together so that your heart,
Chest,
And collarbone are wide and open.
Let's take a round of clearing breaths just to truly arrive here.
Take a deep breath in and a full,
Long breath out.
And do this a couple more times,
Deep inhalation,
Fill up,
Imagining that the exhale is just clearing out any dissonant,
Negative,
Preoccupied energy.
Your inhale expands,
Exhale releases.
Now as we sit,
If you feel safe,
Close your eyes,
Root down through your sit bones and find a tall spine,
Rise up,
Feel noble in this integral stance.
Bring one of your palms to your belly and the other to the heart.
Take a moment to connect with yourself and realize that you are not a concept,
You are not an ideal or an idea,
You're a person here and now,
Vulnerable,
In process,
And beautiful just the way you are.
Feel the belly press into the palms as you inhale,
Maybe the breath becomes so big that the heart even lifts,
And the exhale,
The hands gently fall.
Feel this incredible tide of life that moves through you.
It is not exclusive to other people.
It does not depend on your degrees or your salary.
This incredible miracle of life moves through you here and now.
Soften your eyes,
Your forehead,
And your jaw.
Any tension that occurs in your self-reflection or expectations of where you should or shouldn't be,
See if you can sense that tension in the mind going away,
Melting away as the forehead softens,
The eyebrows become unfurrowed,
And the jaw unclenches.
This person,
Upon which your hands rest,
Has been through so many chapters of life,
So many iterations and evolutions that have gotten you to where you are today.
Maybe some memories or images can flash through your mind,
And as they do,
Extend gratitude for each and every version of yourself that was learning and growing and doing the best that they could within the circumstances that they found themselves.
Each chapter of our life holds its own unique wisdom,
Which we are able to integrate when we are at peace with the process.
At peace with being works in progress.
Now bring both hands to your heart.
Attach this incredible mechanism underneath your palms and extend to yourself a feeling of love and appreciation for all that you have endured and come through,
All of the challenges you have met,
The growth that you have ushered in,
The vulnerability of your heart.
If you can,
Summon a small smile for this person who you know very well.
Extend to yourself in this moment the gesture of love and support that you would for any loved one,
Friend,
Or stranger that you know.
Deep down,
We truly don't wish violence,
Suffering,
Or pain on anyone,
And so we can release the tense grip we have on our own self-expectations and realize that we are just as worthy of that love,
That kindness,
And that prosperity as any other soul on this planet.
Take a deep breath in and fill up with that self-love and appreciation for being here,
For coming so far,
And exhale.
Let that breath return to the world.
You can do this as many times as you need.
And when you're ready,
You can open the eyes,
And I recommend that you find your way to a mirror,
And for just a moment,
Look yourself in the eyes,
See the incredible light of life that lives there,
And smile at this person and say,
Thank you,
I appreciate you,
Please be well.
