This is the self-compassion with equanimity practice.
It is intended for use in actual caregiving situations where we might feel overwhelmed or a little bit burnt out from perhaps giving too much.
This exercise helps us to connect to a way of being compassionate with ourselves while maintaining that connection with others.
It helps us to maintain a sense of equanimity,
Which is just a balanced awareness amidst pleasant or unpleasant emotions that may be brought up in caregiving situations.
So to begin,
Please find a comfortable position and taking a few deep breaths and settling into your body and into the present moment.
Perhaps feeling the weight of the body on the surface upon which it's resting,
Allowing the shoulders to drop down away from the ears,
Allow the cheeks to soften.
Bringing your awareness into the breath where you notice the breath sensations most vividly right now.
For this exercise,
You might like to put your hand over your heart,
Maybe hands on both arms,
Giving yourself a little hug or hand on your cheek,
Wherever it's comforting and soothing,
Just as a reminder that you're bringing an affectionate awareness towards your experiencing of suffering and to yourself.
So now please bring to mind someone or a situation where you're caring for others and it's causing you some exhaustion or frustration.
Please choose someone who is not too close to you for this exercise if it's your first time,
As this can be a little bit more complicated.
So visualizing the person and the caregiving situation clearly in your mind and feeling where that struggle takes up space in your body.
Really becoming familiar with the sensations that this situation provokes inside your body,
Checking in with your belly and your chest,
Maybe in the back or the neck,
Hips,
The legs and the feet.
Checking in with the jaw and the face just noticing how this dynamic and situation manifests in terms of the bodily sensations.
And now listening carefully to these words and just letting them gently roll through your mind.
Everyone is on his or her own journey in life.
I am not the cause of this person suffering,
Nor is it entirely within my power to make it go away.
Even though I wish I could.
There are times when this relationship or situation is difficult to bear,
Yet I may still try to help if I can.
And if you are feeling the stress you're carrying in your body,
Inhaling fully and deeply,
Drawing compassion inside your body and filling every cell of your body with compassion,
Letting yourself be soothed by your breath,
Inhaling deeply,
And by giving yourself the compassion you need in this moment.
I invite for you as you exhale,
Sending out compassion to the person or situation associated with your discomfort,
Or just to others in general.
You can continue breathing compassion in and out,
Allowing your body to gradually find a natural breathing rhythm.
Letting your body breathe itself.
Inhaling one for me,
Exhaling one for you,
Or you may simply say in for me,
Out for you.
And finally scanning your inner landscape for any distress and responding by inhaling compassion for yourself,
Allowing that to fill you up and exhaling,
Extending compassion for others.
If you find that anyone needs extra compassion,
Focusing your attention and your breath in that direction.
And in this way,
Allowing the breath to caress the inside of the body as you breathe.
Just allowing yourself to float on an ocean of compassion,
A limitless ocean that embraces all suffering.
And listening to these words once again.
No one is on his or her own life journey.
I am not the cause of this person's suffering,
Nor is it entirely within my power to make it go away.
Even though I wish I could.
There are times when this relationship is difficult to bear.
Yet I may still try to help if I can.
Now returning your awareness to sense of the breath,
And perhaps to the sounds in the room,
Allowing the practice to fade and allowing yourself to be exactly as you are in this moment.
Returning your attention to the room and to the present moment,
Gently opening your eyes.
