Loving Kindness Practice

In this soothing practice led by Lisa, you will be guided through some gentle breathing and a body scan to relax and release tension. Then loving kindness is offered for your loved ones, yourself and all beings everywhere. You will be receiving and giving love as your heart softens and rests in kindness.

Transcript

Hi everyone,

And welcome to a loving kindness meditation practice.

Today we'll be offering loving kindness to our loved ones,

And also to ourselves.

So to get started,

Go ahead and sit comfortably,

Or you can lie down on your back if you don't think you'll fall asleep.

If you're seated,

Feel your feet on the floor and let your spine be long,

But then relax the body.

Just gently begin to come into your space.

Notice your surroundings.

Start to feel the body,

However it's positioned,

Whether you're seated or lying on the floor.

Notice the contact of the chair or cushion against your body.

If you haven't done so already,

Gently close your eyes.

As we begin to notice touch and sensation in the body,

You can also notice where the breath is.

Where do you feel it in the body?

Noticing your natural breath coming in,

Going out.

You can ride that breath in and out like a gentle wave.

Just to add a little bit more relaxation,

Sometimes it's helpful to do some deeper breathing,

A little bit more conscious breathing.

So if this is comfortable for you,

On your next inhale you can breathe in through your nose a long slow breath and breathe out through your mouth an even longer breath.

I like to count the breath,

But you don't have to.

If you prefer to count,

You can inhale through the nose for a three count,

Exhale through the mouth for a six count.

You want to try and double your exhale breath and as you're exhaling,

Start to soften,

Release and relax in the body.

As you inhale slowly,

Really bringing in new breath,

New energy,

Imagining receiving on the inhale and feel the body releasing on the exhale.

And let's continue this for a few more moments,

Long slow inhale,

Receiving,

Feeling,

Long slow exhale,

Letting go,

Releasing and relaxing.

If it's helpful,

When you exhale,

You can bring your lips together as if you're blowing through a straw that will slow the breath down and help you elongate it.

And please note that at any time if this breath is uncomfortable,

Just come back to your natural breathing,

Following it in and following it out.

Let's do one more breath at your own pace.

And then when you feel complete with that breath,

Gently return to the natural breath moving in and moving out.

Again,

Where do you feel it?

Does it feel any different?

Just notice the breath,

Bring your awareness to it and gently follow it.

You can use the breath as your anchor to return to if your thoughts take you away,

Which is perfectly normal and will happen.

And when the thoughts do take you away and you notice you're in thinking mode,

Pause for a moment,

Notice the thoughts.

And when you're ready,

Come back to the home base or the anchor of the breath moving in and moving out.

You may find that you have to do that over and over again.

And it doesn't matter how many times you start again.

Know that you always have an opportunity to start over if you've drifted off.

Then gently taking your awareness to your forehead,

Your eyes,

Your eyelids and your eyebrows,

Allowing the space to release and relax,

Soften.

Feel the cheekbones grow heavy on your face.

Let the jaw on both sides release so the teeth are no longer touching.

Notice the inside of the mouth.

Notice the softening.

Feel the tongue release from all the way from the root to the tip of the tongue,

Allowing every muscle in the face to relax.

Moving down into the throat center,

Feel the throat soften,

Even imagine those tiny muscles releasing.

Notice the back of the head and the neck just floating as if we could let go of all the tension we carry in there.

Tips of the shoulders can gently melt away from the ears.

And feel that same heaviness move right into the arms,

All 10 fingers and the palms.

Feel the space across the chest and the center of the chest,

The heart center area,

Also relax and if possible allow for some opening,

Some spaciousness in that area to receive whatever it is you're meant to receive today in this meditation.

Feel the belly soften.

Feel the weight of the body resting into the sit bones and the sit bones resting into the chair cushion.

Allow the legs,

The thighs to grow heavy.

Let the kneecaps gently fall away.

And feel the shins and the calves gently melt down into the ankles.

Bringing your awareness to the top of the feet and the soles of the feet and also all 10 toes.

Feeling your connection to the earth.

Feeling your stability and feeling the earth that holds you.

Take a moment now and notice any tension that you're still holding on to in your body.

And without any expectations,

Just allow a little more time in those tightly held areas,

Either allowing the breath to move in or even just taking your awareness and softening.

When you feel complete with that,

Come back to your natural breath,

Moving in,

Moving out.

Notice where you feel it inside the body.

And can you stay with that gentle breath,

Just like a wave moving in and moving out.

And again,

We can use this as our home base or as an anchor for the mind to come back to when we've gotten lost in thought.

Now I invite you to picture,

To visualize someone in your life that's easy for you to love and that loves you.

It can be a person that's in your life now.

It could be someone that's passed on.

It could even be a pet.

Take a moment and visualize whoever you've chosen.

Allow your eyes to meet.

And really see each other in this moment.

And we'll begin with some loving kindness phrases that I will offer out and you can listen to them and silently repeat them to this person or this pet.

And as you look at them and your eyes meet,

You can silently say,

May you be happy.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be safe and protected.

And may you live your life with ease.

You can silently repeat these words to this loved one.

And really imagine taking the quality of the love that's being shared.

How would this being feel receiving these words from you?

And how does it make you feel to be giving these words to them?

Notice how it feels in the body.

Notice where you feel it.

And looking at that person again,

Offering the words of loving kindness.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be safe and protected.

And may you live your life with ease.

So imagine wrapping these words around them like a blanket as you hold them in loving kindness.

You swaddle them and give these wishes to them of loving kindness.

And they feel held,

Supported and loved by you as you offer these words over and over.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be safe and protected.

May you live your life with ease.

Again notice how you feel inside.

Imagine how they would feel receiving these words.

And take that in for a moment as you gaze into this being's eyes.

Notice what you are receiving and what you are giving.

Now you can gently let that person go or that pet or being.

And pause for a moment and think of another person that you love,

Who loves you and you both find it easy to love one another.

Bring this person into your mind's eye or this pet and make eye contact.

See them,

Feel their love just as they can feel your love.

And offer these same words of loving kindness to them.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be safe and protected.

May you live your life with ease.

And again,

Swaddling this being in loving kindness so they feel held and loved.

And notice how you feel offering these words out to them,

Holding them and imagine how they feel receiving these words.

And just notice how that feels in your body as you swaddle them in loving kindness.

May you be happy.

May you be healthy and strong.

May you be safe and protected.

And may you live your life with ease as you hold this person in loving kindness.

Now imagine this person or this being or pet is there in front of you with the other one that you just offered loving kindness to.

So both are in your mind's eyes and you're sharing this time together as you look in each other's eyes.

And these two beings look at you and they offer loving kindness to you.

May you also be happy as they look at you.

May you also be healthy and strong.

May you also be safe and protected.

And may you also live your life with ease as you receive these words from these beings that are so close to you,

Who you love and who love you.

Allow those words to enter your heart and feel that in your body and feel that you are being swaddled and held in these words of loving kindness.

As they say to you,

May you also be happy.

May you also be healthy and strong.

May you also be safe and protected.

And may you also live your life with ease as you take in those words and let them rest gently in your heart.

Receive all of this with gratitude and take their good wishes into yourself.

And now offering these words of loving kindness to yourself,

To your own heart.

If it's comfortable for you,

You can place your palm on your heart.

As you gently silently say these words,

May I be happy.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I be safe and protected.

May I live my life with ease.

Taking in the words of loving kindness for yourself.

And if you find this to be difficult,

You can have the intention to take these words in that someday you will be able to receive them.

And if you can feel these and take these in,

Let these words wrap you up,

Swaddle you in loving kindness.

May I be happy.

May I be healthy and strong.

May I be safe and protected.

And may I live my life with ease.

Allowing loving kindness to your own heart.

Just as you offered those words out to your loved ones,

Can you allow that same love to come back to you?

Letting yourself be swaddled and held in loving kindness.

Letting these words that you offer rest in your heart.

And finally,

We can offer words of loving kindness to all beings everywhere,

Including ourselves.

May all beings everywhere be happy.

May all beings everywhere be healthy and strong.

May all beings everywhere be safe and protected.

May all beings everywhere live their life with ease.

As you offer this out to yourself,

To all your loved ones and to the entire planet and even Mother Earth.

Letting the words radiate out.

May all beings be happy.

May all beings be healthy and strong.

May all beings be safe and protected.

And may all beings live their life with ease.

So we sit and bask in the loving kindness that we have offered out to our loved ones,

To the universe and to ourselves.

We let that glow inside our heart grow and know that we can use this practice anytime and we can even use it for emotions such as anger or fear or sadness.

We can offer loving kindness to all things.

Taking a long slow breath in,

A long slow breath out.

You can gently begin to wiggle your fingers and your toes and slowly come back into your space and open your eyes when you are ready.

Thank you everyone and I wish you a day of peace and love.

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Reviews

Lovely. Gentle pace. Kind.
The ad for signing up at the end was jarring. It would help to have a warning or to have a longer space at the end before that starts.
Thank you.