Self Compassion

This is a self-compassion practice combining Kindness, Community, and Mindfulness Neff talks about. This practice is effective to offer emotional support when you need the most during difficult times in life.

Transcript

Self-compassion break. Before we get started finding anything that you need right now might be a blanket to support your lower back but just getting anything too so you feel comfortable. Closing your eyes if that feels right all dropping your gaze. For this practice I'm going to ask you to think about something difficult in your life right now and maybe asking yourself is that something I can do today? Beginning to draw your attention to your breath as you inhale and exhale. Noticing how you're feeling right now and being curious as to how the body is feeling. For this practice I'd like you to think of something in your life that's difficult for you. That might be feeling stressed, A relationship problem, Health problem. It might be an argument at work, A work problem. I'd like you to think of a challenging situation perhaps not overly difficult for you but just so it causes a little bit of overwhelm but not too much. I'd like you to imagine the situation of what's going on right now. What happened? What might have been said? What might have happened? And bringing the situation to life within your mind. So you experience a little bit of uneasiness in your body but not too much. If you find your mind wandering just gently compassionately bringing it back to the breath. I'm going to mention the three components to help us to remember self-compassion when we need it the most. The first phase is this is a moment of suffering and bringing awareness to the suffering and acknowledging it in the present moment and I invite you to use any words which speak to you. Maybe this is really hard right now and perhaps saying this is very difficult and I'm struggling right now or any other phrases, Language that works for you and perhaps becoming aware of where you feel it within the body the most. Feeling into any sensations becoming aware of any discomfort or tension. We're turning towards the difficulty acknowledging it and naming it and maybe saying something like this is hard, This is uncomfortable, This is stressful, This really hurts or thinking of any phrases that feel right for you right now. Becoming aware of any emotions within the body and saying something like this is sadness or this is anger, This is anxiety and becoming aware of any emotions within the body. So if you're feeling anxiety maybe saying it's okay I have anxiety right now, It's okay and just becoming aware of any emotions and perhaps using a phrase it's okay. This is part of suffering and it's a part of life. We all experience suffering maybe not in the same way but reminding ourselves of that common humanity and searching for any language that speaks to you here. The stresses we experience, The losses we have in life are all part of the human experience. I'm not alone and seeing if you can allow it to be there as best you can without trying to change anything as you breathe in and breathe out. It might be it's not abnormal to feel this way, Other people have similar experiences to me and I'm not alone. Suffering is a part of life and it's part of being human. We all experience it, I'm not alone. It's normal to feel this way sometimes, It's okay, I'm okay. Now seeing if we can bring more kindness it can be helpful to place a hand over your heart area and saying something like, It's okay I'm here for you, You're gonna be okay. Or finding any words that support you in how you're feeling in this moment. May I be kind to myself during the times which are really difficult for me and more self-compassionate? Perhaps it can be helpful to imagine a friend struggling in front of you. What would you say to a friend right now? It might be I'm here for you, You're going to be okay, You're not alone. Whatever words feel right for you, I'm sorry you're going through this but you're not alone, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Any words that feel right for you, I want you to be happy and be at peace with yourself. If you can imagine someone offering some caring support and they had something to say for you, What would that be? To offer more care and comfort and what do you feel you need to hear right now? As we're coming to the end of the practice, Beginning to allow your experience to settle a bit, Drawing your attention back to your breath, Noticing how you feel now and being curious as to whether you feel any different compared to when you started the practice today. Whenever you're ready, Opening your eyes, Have a lovely day.

Reviews

I have autism and I found her gentle way of guiding really helpful and comforting. It felt safe, and it wasn't too fast. I felt there was enough space to get a grasp of it in my own head as it went on

This meditation helped me face my fears with kindness and compassion, then the tears flowed. I will return to this as I'm going through a challenging time 💗