Welcome,
And I hope that each one of you will come to find peace within yourself.
Today,
I want to talk a little bit about self-esteem.
This meditation is based on a live session I did recently.
Self-esteem can be a complex topic,
But it's essentially how we feel about ourselves,
Our value,
And our abilities.
If you have high self-esteem,
It gives you confidence,
Resilience,
And strong relationships.
But on the other hand,
If you have low self-esteem,
It can contribute to feelings of inadequacy anxiety and depression.
Self-esteem and confidence are things that can change during your life,
Often due to circumstances in your life.
Let's close our eyes now and get in touch with our breath.
And it doesn't matter if you're sitting,
Standing,
Or lying down.
The only thing that matters when you meditate is that you're comfortable and alert.
And as we get in touch with our breath,
Let's start to relax our body.
Relax your face,
Unfurl your brow,
And unclench your jaw.
Relax your neck.
Relax your shoulders.
Relax your arms and your hands.
Look for any tension in your chest and belly.
Relax your legs and your feet.
And as you begin to relax,
Let's get even more in touch with our breath.
Our breath is our anchor.
It's there for us in all moments.
It's there to give us comfort and make us calm.
Breathing in and breathing out.
One breath at a time.
Now just continue to follow your breath.
Don't force anything.
Remember,
You're trying to breathe like you.
You're not trying to breathe like me.
So just continue to follow your breath and listen to my voice.
At the time I had my strokes,
I was confident.
I was a registered nurse with lots of experience.
I was strong.
I was well liked by my coworkers and the physicians I dealt with.
And then I had the strokes,
And it was all wiped away.
My left side was numb,
My left leg dragged,
And my hand was useless.
And I couldn't imagine that my life would ever get better.
And on top of that,
I had all these doctors telling me that I would only live five years and that I would never walk again.
At the time I had my worst stroke,
I had two young daughters.
One was three,
And the other was a newborn.
And I was determined to live my best life with them,
To spend as much quality time with them as I could.
But I didn't have any confidence,
No confidence walking or holding things.
It took time and practice,
And more importantly,
It took time being kind to myself.
And as I improved,
So did my self-esteem.
So did my confidence.
I got to be an expert with a cane.
You'd be amazed at what I can do with a cane.
And I was good at falling down stairs.
And here I'm going to take a pause and let you just breathe and think,
And then I'll be back.
Many individuals with low self-esteem face a range of challenges that can impact their lives.
And I just want to mention a few.
All the while,
You're breathing in and breathing out,
One breath at a time.
People with low self-esteem have negative self-talk,
They're constantly criticizing themselves and their abilities.
And this is why I say that words and thoughts have power.
The things you think and the things you say can become reality.
And many times the negative feelings are put on us by others,
Parents or siblings or friends or co-workers.
And if you feel down on yourself,
I recommend including positive affirmations in your meditation practice.
People with low self-esteem also have a fear of failure.
They avoid new things and new experiences and challenges because they have a belief that you won't succeed.
You have to be kind to yourself.
You have to be kind.
You have to be able to show yourself the same kindness and grace that you show other people.
And if you have criticism,
You have to be able to take it and know that it's just a constructive criticism.
I have a quote from scientist and Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie who said,
Life is not easy for any of us,
But what of that?
We must have perseverance and above all,
Confidence in ourselves.
And I have another quote from publisher Malcolm Ford who said,
Too many people overvalue what they are not and undervalue what they are.
And it's like how I felt after my strokes when I was thinking about too much about what I had lost and not thinking enough about all that I still had.
We are hardest on ourselves and life is hard,
But you can make it better by getting in touch with your breath,
By being kind to yourself,
By relying on yourself to feel proud of who and what you are.
Now,
As you continue to breathe,
I'd like you to repeat some positive affirmations.
You can say them out loud or silently to yourself.
I'll say each one twice.
I am worthy of love and respect.
I am worthy of love and respect.
I am capable of achieving my goals.
I am capable of achieving my goals.
I believe in myself.
I believe in myself.
I am enough.
I am enough.
And you know,
You always have been.
We're so hard on ourselves and we need to be able to show ourselves the same kindness that we show other people in our lives,
Our partners,
Our children,
Our siblings,
Our parents,
Our coworkers,
Our neighbors,
Our friends.
So many of us can be so kind to everyone else and then not show kindness to ourselves.
You have to believe in yourself.
You have to know that you're on the right path,
That you're on this path of mindfulness and that you can get a little bit better every day.
Now,
As we come to a close,
Open your eyes and come back into the room,
Wiggle your fingers and toes and stretch and feel how good it is to be alive.
How good it is to be in this moment.
How good it is to be you.
You are all that you need to be and you need to accept the fact that you're enough.
You always have been.
You always will be.
I hope this has been a beneficial and calming session.
We all face challenges in our lives,
But we can conquer those challenges by being kind to ourselves,
By getting in touch with our breath multiple times a day.
Just breathing in and breathing out one breath at a time and then next and then the next.
Till next time.
