Here are the instructions for the Body Loving Kindness Meditation,
A powerful practice that inclines your heart and mind to open.
In this meditation you are asked to offer yourself friendly wishes of peace,
Happiness,
Safety,
Health,
And joy.
However,
There is no right or wrong way to feel as you do this exercise.
You may feel kind and loving toward yourself,
But you may not.
The regular practice of loving kindness can soften the hard edges of judgment you have toward yourself.
When this happens,
You are more likely to treat yourself with love and respect.
Start by finding a comfortable sitting position and bringing your attention to your body as a whole and the breath within the body.
Notice how your body feels.
Be aware of the sensations in your feet,
The position of your legs,
Your arms and hands resting gently at your side or in your lap.
The body sitting up in a regal yet relaxed posture.
Notice how your face feels and release any tension that you find.
Then continue to scan the body from head to toe.
Breathe out any tension that you find.
After a moment or two,
Bring your attention to rest gently on the breath in the center of the chest,
The heart center.
Breathe in and out gently.
Allow the breath to be soft and relaxed.
Be fully present for the sensations that arise,
Exist and pass away at the heart center.
Breathe gently in and out of this human heart.
Breathe in and offer yourself the first phrase,
May I be peaceful into the center of the chest,
Into the heart center.
Gently breathe it in.
May I be peaceful to the top of the head,
To the tips of the fingers,
To the soles of the feet.
Take your time.
Over the words as you breathe them into your heart.
May I be peaceful.
Breathe gently in and out of this heart.
Rest the second phrase.
May I be happy into the center of the chest.
Breathe it in and permeate the entire body with the wish to be happy.
Sense the energy of the wish for happiness moving through your entire body.
Feel the breath flowing in and out of the heart center.
May I be happy.
Breathe gently in and out of this human heart.
This heart just as you find it.
Rest the next phrase,
May I be safe from inner and outer harm into the heart center.
Breathe gently in and out.
Let the wish for safety bathe all of the cells of your body.
Feel your body with the wish to live free from harm.
May I be safe from inner and outer harm.
Sense this body just as it is,
Breathe in and out of this heart center.
Rest the phrase,
May I be as healthy as I am capable of being.
Sense this wish for health in the center of the chest.
Breathe it in to the top of the head,
To the tips of the fingers,
To the bottoms of the feet.
Fill this body with the wish to be healthy.
May I be as healthy as I am capable of being.
Keep bringing your attention back to rest on the breath in the center of the chest,
The heart center.
Rest the final phrase.
May I live with joy and ease into this human heart.
May I live with joy and ease.
Breathe in and out of this heart.
Refuse this body with joy and delight in this precious yet ordinary human life.
Fill this body from top to bottom with this wish.
May I live with joy and ease.
May I be peaceful.
May I be happy.
May I be safe from inner and outer harm.
May I be as healthy as I am capable of being.
And may I live with joy and ease.
Stay here as long as you'd like,
And when you return to the normal activities of your day,
Take these wishes of kindness into the world.
