Hello,
Welcome!
If you haven't done so already,
Take a moment to step away from the current situation to a place where you can be safe and alone just for a few moments here while you take care of yourself for a bit.
And if you've already done so,
Great,
Go ahead and get settled in and we'll begin very shortly.
Once you have settled into a comfortable place,
Gently allow the eyes to close or perhaps if it's more comfortable it's okay to keep your eyes open and allow the gaze to just rest upon the surface in front of you,
Whether that be the floor or a spot on the wall,
Just allowing the gaze to rest instead of staring at something.
Now invite the face to relax as well as your jaw,
Release your grip on your shoulders and allow your hands to rest effortlessly.
Invite your attention to your breathing and just try to stretch it out slightly,
Making it just a little bit longer,
Just a little deeper.
Let's try a belly breathing exercise.
As you breathe in,
Allow your belly to extend out as if you're filling it up with air and then as you breathe out,
Bring your belly back in as though you're gently pressing against it to release all of that air.
If it helps,
You can imagine your stomach as a balloon expanding as air comes in and contracting again as air leaves.
Inhaling,
Extending the belly and exhaling,
Contracting the belly.
Inhale,
Exhale,
Extend,
Contract.
Let's do this for three more times.
Inhaling and exhaling,
Extending,
Contracting.
Once more,
Inhaling and exhaling.
And now allow your breathing to resume its natural rhythm,
Just going back to a pace that feels best for you right now.
So welcome to this exercise.
You're here doing this because of something that's occurred,
Something you aren't proud of,
Something you regret,
Something you wish you hadn't done.
And now before you go replaying the entire incident,
As you've probably already done,
Let's take a step back from that situation and simply give a name to what it is that you feel right now.
It might be something like sadness,
Anger,
Fear,
Shame,
Hurt,
Or perhaps there's another more fitting emotion.
Now just label this feeling with this emotion.
You don't have to elaborate on the feeling.
We're simply naming it right now.
Anger,
Sadness,
Shame,
Whatever it is you're feeling right now.
And now hold on to that name and notice where you feel it the most in your body.
Maybe you feel a tightening in your chest or your stomach,
Perhaps your shoulders,
Your throat,
Maybe even your head.
Bring your attention to wherever it is that you feel this emotion the most and just observe it.
Again,
Avoid trying to change it or alter it in any way and just allow it to be here.
And now we're going to change the name of this feeling and this time I want you to adopt this name.
Suffering,
Suffering,
Suffering.
This feeling that you're experiencing right now,
It's uncomfortable,
It's difficult.
Acknowledge it as a moment of suffering.
Just recognize this.
Recognize that you are suffering right now and keep in mind too that everyone feels this sometimes.
Everyone suffers.
You are not alone.
You are not the only one who's ever suffered.
You don't need to make it worse by beating yourself up or punishing yourself.
If you think of someone you deeply love and care about who has had the same experience as you,
Would you want them to be suffering and beating themselves up this way?
Consider something that you would say to a loved one who is experiencing this or how you would respond.
That might be by giving them a hug or offering words of comfort such as,
It's okay,
This belongs,
This will pass,
It won't last forever,
It's okay,
I'm here,
I still love you,
I'm still here for you,
I'm not going anywhere,
I'm here.
Grant yourself this same act of compassion.
Take a hand or two and place them where you feel the uncomfortable emotion the most.
Or maybe if it feels better,
Wrap your arms around yourself in a hug and offer yourself words of comfort toward this area,
Toward this feeling such as,
It's okay,
I'm here,
I love you.
And open your heart,
Open your mind to allowing this compassion right into you.
Allow these words of comfort to warm and soften the area where you feel this emotion the most.
Not every once in a while this feels a little bit overwhelming and if that's how it's feeling for you right now,
That's okay.
Your body and mind are both responding to something difficult and they're absolutely okay to respond this way right now.
It's perfectly normal,
Perfectly natural.
If you really need to,
If you feel like it's a little too much,
It's okay to take a mental step away from the practice and bring your attention back to your breath.
Try out the belly breathing you were doing earlier and just focus on that until you're ready to come back to the practice.
And if you feel like you're doing okay,
Then continue with this practice.
Maybe experiment with some different words of comfort.
It's okay,
I'm here,
I still love you,
I'm still here for you,
I'm not going anywhere,
I'm right here.
Continue sharing this comfort with yourself and continue opening your heart to this compassion.
You might even rock gently back and forth from side to side to side as if you were rocking a chair or gently swaying in a swing.
Continue extending this sweet nourishing compassion and see if you notice any changes to this area of the body.
Perhaps it's softer,
More relaxed,
Lighter,
Or maybe nothing has changed.
Maybe your body just needs a little more time and practice to accept this compassion and that's okay.
Take the time you need.
There's no deadline for this to take place,
No timetable when this needs to be done.
Take the time that you need.
And as we come to the close of this practice,
I invite you to move your hand to your heart to say thank you to yourself for taking this precious time for some compassion.
If anything,
If it's really hard to accept your own voice of compassion,
Accept mine.
Accept that I am grateful to you for taking this moment to take care of yourself.
You're more than welcome to borrow my compassion and my gratitude if that helps for now.
As long as with time you can let that go and offer your own bonafide compassion.
Feel free to use this practice as often as you need to do so.
In closing,
Begin to reorient yourself with your space through some gentle movements such as moving the fingers,
The toes,
Gently rocking the head back and forth or side to side and carefully allowing the eyes to open once again.
If it helps to ground yourself back into your space,
Count how many things around you you can see that are in your favorite color.
Or if that's too easy,
Say your favorite color is green and you're out in the garden,
Choose my favorite color.
My favorite color is orange.
My favorite color is orange and that requires a little more effort but I found it really helps as a grounding practice.
Coming back,
Coming back and here you are.
I hope that this was nourishing for you and helpful for you.
Please feel free to return to this meditation again and again anytime you need to do so.
And if you don't have a lot of time to set aside,
That's more than okay.
Place your hand on that rough spot.
Maybe it'll change from situation to situation.
Rock a little bit,
Just gently,
Or give yourself a small hug.
Wrap your arms around yourself as though you're cold and give yourself a little squeeze.
Whatever it takes to just remind yourself of this compassion that you most definitely deserve.
Thank you for joining me today in this practice and enjoy the rest of your day.
