Welcome to the self love and kindness meditation.
Find a comfortable place to sit or lie back where you're fully supported and able to relax,
But stay engaged in the meditation.
Allow the next few minutes to be a gift to yourself,
To your soul,
To the fatigue and weariness of your mind,
Your heart,
Your body.
And just gift yourself this time to be fully open and vulnerable and nourishing in a way that you often give to others.
We'll practice giving that to ourselves at this time.
Take a deep inhale and as you exhale,
Allow your body to release even more.
Inhale again deeply.
And as you exhale fully,
Let your eyebrows relax,
Let the tension around your neck and shoulders drop and surrender all the weight of this tension and stress into the earth,
Into your seat.
Inhale one more time,
A deep full breath.
And as you exhale,
Release the stomach muscles,
Any knots or tension in your stomach,
Your low back,
Your hips.
Even release your sphincter muscle,
Your thighs.
Let the full weight of your body surrender and melt towards the earth,
Trusting that you are supported,
Trusting that this time for you is okay.
And thanking yourself for gifting this very generous part of your day to self-care,
To self-love and self-kindness.
On your next inhale,
Return your breath to normal,
Breathing only through your nose.
And see if you can put a gentle smile on your face,
A smile of gratitude even during difficult times,
Even during stress.
Finding the resource within to allow that gentle smile to come,
The ease.
And as you exhale,
Continue to allow your body and your spirit to unravel,
To surrender and rest.
And finding a calm breathing pattern,
Just continue breathing in a normal,
Gentle way,
Focusing on the inhale.
Focusing on the exhale,
Allowing your brow to release even more the skin around your ears and your face.
It's just melting towards the ground.
And the gentle smile may relax a bit,
But the energy of kindness,
Just simple,
Heartfelt kindness,
Can stay with you during this practice.
As you allow this time today,
There may be thoughts or judgments that come up.
Just notice them,
Acknowledge them.
In fact,
Thank them.
Whatever thought or judgment comes to mind,
You can simply use your internal voice and say,
Thank you,
I hear you.
And return your focus back to your breath.
Thank you,
I hear you.
Let it be,
Returning back to the stillness of this moment.
On your next inhale,
Follow the breath in through your nostrils,
Down into your chest area,
Into the heart chakra,
The heart energy,
The gateway,
The translator of love,
Emotion,
Grief,
Our human experience,
And our more higher consciousness experience.
Bring your breath into this area,
Feeling the air fill your lungs,
Expand your rib cage,
Your back,
And the gentle up and down movement of your shoulders.
And the same as we do with our mind,
We witness and notice any feeling and emotion that come up as the breath starts to unleash,
Make space,
Reveal some of the hidden suppressed feelings inside.
So just notice what you feel here.
Maybe there's some old grief,
Some sadness.
Maybe part of you is bustling with joy but afraid to show it.
There might be fear of being hurt again,
Or just fatigue if you're constantly taking care of other people.
This is a time to take care of you.
And the way we do that is to sit with the truth of who we are and how we feel.
We get to know ourselves and nurture ourselves in very gentle but profound ways such as this.
Listening,
Acknowledging,
Accepting how we feel.
This is a sacred space within you that does not have to be shared with anyone else.
But allow yourself during this time to be very vulnerable and open and honest.
This is your authentic being.
And it's okay to feel how you feel.
Imagine if you were caring for a young child that shared some of these deep feelings with you.
Some of the fear or the upset or feeling unworthy or misunderstood,
How you might comfort that child.
By listening,
Holding,
Loving,
Caressing,
Encouraging that child.
Imagine you with your emotions are that child.
And find the same compassion and kindness that you would offer a loved one,
A precious young loved child.
And see if you can envelop yourself with that same energy of compassion,
Love and kindness.
Being gentle and soft but supportive.
You might include this very simple mantra into the remainder of this meditation.
I am loved.
As you inhale repeating I am.
And as you exhale repeating loved.
If you'd like additional support,
You might put your right hand over your heart area between your chest.
And you might put your left hand on top of your right hand.
In a very gentle soothing manner supporting and energizing this heart area.
This bridge between body and soul.
The translator of human experience and higher consciousness.
The place where we ultimately understand life.
I am loved.
I am loved.
Feeling the love and gratitude for showing up to this meditation and to yourself.
Thanking yourself and wishing good positive joyful experiences today and also trusting yourself that you can deal with difficult experiences if they arise.
That you can accept your humaneness,
Your flaws.
You can forgive yourself and others.
And you can be as kind and compassionate towards yourself as you are to your favorite beings.
On your next exhale you might choose to release your hands from your heart.
Returning your focus back to your breath.
Finding one last opportunity in this meditation.
To surrender the stress,
The negative self-talk,
The tension,
If only for a moment.
Letting it flow through your being and out into the consciousness of our collective state so that it can transmute and transcend into a healing vibration.
I am loved.
You are loved.
