Encourage Self-Love

This is a meditation to encourage self-love and supporting and caring for yourself. There is mantra and movement involve including the clasping of your own hands as if you are holding your own hand. You are encouraged to feel your breath and connect inwards with yourself.

Transcript

My name is Lucy Stone and this is Meditation Rocks. Self love is really important at this time of the year. Although it's a strange year, I'm sure many of us are getting caught up with to-do lists and busyness and trying to be all things to all people. So it's so important to remember to make time for ourself and to top up that cup that can sometimes empty. So self love is our theme for our meditation today. And as well as using our breath and a mantra of self love, We will be offering you the chance to bring your hands to some certain points on the body where you can almost feel like you're giving yourself a little hug. So let's start by getting yourself comfortable wherever you are, Whether you're in a chair or lying down. And just take a moment to arrive here, Allow yourself to get comfortable and balanced across your left and right hand side. Just feeling the contact points of your body with the chair or the bed. Starting to breathe a little deeper, Lengthening the breath so that we feel the breath in the chest and maybe even in the belly. So let's take two deep breaths together now. So breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth. And again. And closing your mouth if this is comfortable and breathing in and out through your nose. So taking a few moments to find a comfortable rhythm for your breath. And it might be that you choose a slightly longer exhale to your inhale. So that you can begin to fully relax and feel the benefits of your meditation for yourself with the intention of self love. So just taking a few moments to get comfortable and just letting go of anything that's not helping you today or any resistance to making this time for yourself. Everything can wait for these 10 minutes or so. So let's start by bringing our hands onto our heart space. So one hand on your heart and the other hand placed on top of your original hand. And just starting to take some nice long deep breaths so that you feel your hands rise with your inhale and fall gently and settle with your exhale. So as you're breathing in, Just imagining you're filling your own heart with love and kindness towards yourself. So just take a few moments here to feel this sense of time and love for yourself. If your mind begins to wander, Just bring your attention to the sensations that you're feeling as you rise and fall with your breath, As your chest expands, As your heart space gets bigger and just having a sense of connection inwards, Making time for yourself. Now leaving your first hand on your heart, Take your second hand to your belly. So belly breathing is a deep nourishing breath. So now try to feel both hands lift and rise as you breathe in fully, Deeply and mindfully, Taking time to breathe fully so you feel the benefits of your breath with the intention of self-love. Just take a few moments here to really take some deep breaths, Feeling both hands rise and fall. And now bringing your hand from your heart and your belly across your arms, Across your chest. So your right hand goes onto your left shoulder or the top of your left arm and your left hand goes to your right shoulder or the top of your right arm as if you're feeling the benefits of a hug. You can hold onto your arm or shoulder, Gently squeezing. So now as you breathe in, You're gonna feel a gentle lift in your heart space, Allowing your arms to rise. And as you exhale, Just taking that moment, Almost like a little hug for yourself as you breathe out. So feeling the benefits of your contact points, Of your hands on your arms or shoulders, Just take this time to really breathe deeply and feel that comfort from this time for yourself. And then slowly releasing the hands, Bringing your hands together in a fist, So wrapping the fingers between the gaps and the other hands and wrapping the fingers and thumbs around as if you're holding your own hand, Placing your hand into your lap or hands. And gently squeeze the hands as if you're holding your own hand as you breathe in and gently releasing a little as you breathe out. So this sensation of holding a hand is a comfort and it's just feeling that sense of support and love for ourself. Just taking a few moments here to breathe deeply in, Gently squeezing the hands, Breathing out, Softening and resting. Breathing out, Softening and relaxing the body. And slowly releasing the hands, Placing the hands into your lap, Onto your knees, And just sort of— and slowly releasing the hands, Placing the hands into your lap, Onto your knees. Just taking a few moments here to breathe deeply in and slowly releasing your hands, Placing your hands into your lap, Onto your knees. Into your lap onto your knees and just taking a couple of moments to allow your meditation to be absorbed into your body and mind and you might like to say the mantra I have love and kindness towards myself I make time for myself just noticing all of the contact points of your body with the ground or the chair of the bed you might like to say I am supported I'm just slowly for these last few moments allowing the breath to return to a comfortable rhythm and flow for you finding any movements in the fingers or toes just remembering the importance of making time for yourself and slowly bringing the hands together and rubbing the hands to create some warmth and some heat and placing the hands over your eyes to blink your eyes open into the warmth and darkness before bringing the hands back down to your lap or knees and I hope that it was a nice little moment for yourself to remind yourself of the importance of taking time out to breathe deeply and remember the importance of self-love I hope that it was a nice addition to your day have a lovely rest of your day and I'll speak to you again very soon