Hi,
And welcome to this meditation for opening the heart to love.
Come into a comfortable position,
And if you're seated,
Lengthen through your spine,
Broadening your chest and shoulders,
And let your hands rest on your thighs.
Once you're settled,
Take a deep breath,
And on the exhale,
Gently close your eyes or soften your gaze.
Begin to tune into your breath.
Simply notice your breath without trying to change it.
Notice its natural flow,
Depth,
And rhythm.
Next,
Checking in with your body and mind,
Noticing if you feel tense or relaxed,
Again without trying to change that either.
Simply observe your present moment experience with kindness and curiosity.
This time is just for you.
Now,
Begin to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth.
Continue to take deep,
Full breaths in through the nose and out of the mouth.
Next,
Noticing if you feel closed off or shut down emotionally.
Now,
Checking in with the mind.
Is it wandering or is it at home within the breath?
Is your mind at ease or perhaps filled with restlessness or negativity or doubt?
Again,
There's no right or wrong.
We're simply noticing our present moment experience.
See if you can do this with kindness and curiosity.
Now,
Place both hands over your heart.
Notice how it feels to place your hands over this tender area,
This place where you experience love for yourself and others.
And as you continue to breathe,
See if it's possible to let your breath become more smooth and effortless.
Breathing in and out through your nose now.
Feel the flow of air moving into your lungs and back out again.
Continue to rest your attention on your heart center in the middle of your chest.
Now begin to visualize yourself standing in front of a mirror,
Looking into your own eyes.
What do you see?
Is there love or joy,
Pain or sadness,
Or maybe simply neutrality?
There's no right or wrong here and regardless of what you see in the reflection,
Tell yourself,
I love you.
You are enough and you're worthy of love and happiness.
Continue to silently repeat these phrases to yourself for the next minute or so and notice how you feel as you say these words to yourself.
I love you.
You are enough.
You are worthy of love and happiness.
You are worthy of love and happiness.
You may experience a flash of strong emotion,
Positive or negative,
Or a forgotten memory of your breathing.
Your breathing may change.
You may even feel tears come into your eyes.
Let the experience be what it is.
Even if you daydream or drift off into sleep,
That's okay.
Simply bring your attention back to your heart center.
And as you continue to breathe gently,
Sense your breath flowing into your heart.
You may want to visualize this as a soft pastel light.
With each breath,
Visualize love pouring out of your hands and into your heart.
Let this love warm and permeate you from your heart center,
Filling up the rest of your body.
Feel a sense of comfort and calm traveling up through your chest,
Into your neck and head,
Out into your shoulders,
Arms and hands,
And down into your ribs,
Belly,
Pelvis,
Legs and feet.
Allow the sensation of warmth to fill you from head to toe.
So,
When you're ready,
Take a deep breath in and out.
So when you're ready,
Take a few more deep mindful breaths.
Begin to bring some movement to your body.
And when you're ready,
You can gently open your eyes.
You can come back to this practice or any other resource you might have available whenever you need to create a loving space for yourself.
Thank you so much for joining me in this practice today.
I hope you have an amazing day,
My friend.
