This is a self-compassion practice originally developed by Kristin Neff.
Beginning with the breath and kindness,
Finding a comfortable position,
Closing your eyes and taking three releasing breaths.
I'd like to invite you to place your hand on your heart for a few moments just to remind yourself that you're in the room and to bring kindness to yourself.
The soothing warmth of your own touch can help settle.
I'd like to invite you to recall a mildly moderate difficult situation.
One that you're possibly in right now or have been recently.
Perhaps a health problem,
Stress in a relationship or a loved one in pain.
Perhaps don't choose a very difficult problem,
But more so something that you can manage to work with right now.
A problem that can generate a little stress in your body when you think of it.
Clearly visualize the situation.
Who was there?
What was said?
What happened?
See if you can name the strongest emotion,
A difficult emotion associated with that situation.
Perhaps anger,
Sadness,
Grief,
Confusion,
Fear,
Longing,
Despair.
Repeat the name of the emotion to yourself in a gentle understanding voice as if you were validating for a friend what he or she was feeling.
That's longing,
That's grief.
Expand your awareness to the body as a whole.
Recalling the difficult situation again and scanning your body for where you feel it the most.
In your mind's eye sweep the body from head to toe,
Stopping where you can sense a little tension or discomfort.
Choose a single location in your body where you're feeling it most strongly.
Perhaps a point of muscle tension or an achy feeling like a headache or tightness in the tummy or something else.
And in your mind gently inclining towards that spot.
Soften into that location in your body.
Let the muscles be soft without a requirement that they become soft.
Like simply applying heat to sore muscles you can say soft,
Soft,
Soft quietly to yourself to enhance the process.
But remember that you're not trying to make the sensations go away you're just being with it with a sense of loving awareness.
You can just let yourself soften around the edges like around the edges of a pancake no need to go all the way in.
Soothe yourself for struggling in this way.
Put your hand over your heart and feel your body breathing.
Perhaps kind words arise in your mind such as I really can sense that this is a painful experience and I'm sorry it's so hard for you right now.
And if you wish you can also direct kindness to the part of your body that's under stress by placing your hand in that place.
It may be helpful to think of your body as if it were the body of a beloved child.
You can say kind words to yourself or just repeat soothe,
Soothe,
Soothe.
Soothe.
Allow the discomfort to be there.
Abandon the wish for the feeling to disappear.
Let the discomfort come and go as it pleases like a guest in your own home.
You can repeat allow allow allow.
Soften soothe and allow.
Soften soothe and allow.
You can use these three words like a mantra reminding yourself to incline with the tenderness around your suffering.
If you experience too much discomfort with an emotion stay with your breath and you will feel better.
And when you're ready begin easing back out slowly opening your eyes letting your attention move out and into the world around you.
Soothe.
You
