Hi,
And welcome to this Centering Self Compassion meditation.
Come into a comfortable seated position,
Making sure your spine is in straight alignment.
Allow your shoulders to drop away from your ears and your hips to settle into the surface beneath you,
Hands either in your lap or at your sides.
And when you're ready,
Take a nice deep breath in through your nose and on the exhale,
Let your eyes drift closed or choose a spot in the room where you can gently rest your gaze.
And just begin to notice your breath as it flows into your body and out again.
Notice where you can feel the breath the most,
Maybe that's at the nostrils,
The throat,
Or the chest or the belly.
Simply breathe naturally here and allow yourself to settle in.
Take a moment here to welcome yourself to this practice and notice what it feels like just to be still.
And now,
Without forcing or straining,
See if you can deepen your breath a bit,
Breathing in to a count of three and exhaling to a count of five.
With each inhale,
Fill your belly up with air and with each exhale,
Let it all out.
See if you can breathe like this for two more full cycles on your own.
Good.
Now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm and flow and continue to notice what it feels like just to breathe.
Now begin to notice your posture and feel the sensations in your body.
If you notice any physical discomfort,
Gently notice it with your awareness and see if you can let it be.
Same thing if you have any emotional distress,
Notice it and let it be there,
Knowing that you're safe in this space.
Now,
Place one or both of your hands on your chest as a reminder to give yourself loving attention throughout this meditation.
Feel the warmth of your hands,
The gentle pressure,
And the rhythmic rising and falling of your chest as you breathe.
And as you breathe,
Let your awareness move deeply into the experience of breathing,
Opening your awareness to the space between your breaths,
The space between the inhale and the exhale,
And again between the exhale and the inhale.
See if you can let your awareness drop into the space between your breath.
Your breath is actually breathing you,
Keeping you healthy even when you're asleep.
So go deeply into that empty space from which breathing emerges.
This is a space of great peace and freedom.
And just as your breath seemingly comes out of nowhere,
Your thoughts also emerge out of a deep,
Quiet space.
So when you're ready,
Begin to listen for any words that may come up for you.
Open yourself up to a word or a phrase that might be just what you need to hear right now.
If a word or a phrase were to appear from your heart,
What would it be?
Some possibilities might be love,
Peace,
Trust,
Grace,
Or I love you.
And if no words arise on their own,
That's okay too.
You can simply continue to breathe and relax.
Or you might choose to repeat one of the following phrases.
May I be at peace,
Or may I be kind to myself.
For the next few moments,
I'll be silent.
Continue to breathe,
Relax,
And repeat the compassionate words that you've chosen during this time of stillness.
If you notice that your mind wanders,
Bring it back to the words of compassion or to your breath.
Now let go of the word or words of compassion.
And if you haven't done so yet,
You can remove your hand from your chest.
Simply be with your inner experience,
Letting yourself be just as you are.
As we come to the end of this practice,
Notice how you're feeling.
Take a deep breath in and let it out with a sigh.
And when you're ready,
You can gently open your eyes.
Thank you so much for joining me in this practice today.
I hope it's been helpful.
I hope it's been helpful for you.
Have a beautiful day.
Namaste.
