Inner Compassionate Coach Meditation

The intention of this practice is to get in touch with a particular side of yourself –the supportive voice or a kind essence that is within you always, that we’ll refer to as your inner compassionate coach.

Transcript

Welcome to the self-compassionate coach meditation.

The intention of this practice is to get in touch with a particular side of yourself,

The supportive voice or kind essence that is within you always that we'll refer to as your inner compassionate coach.

Try to let go of any expectations of how this all should feel or even that you should feel anything at all.

Letting go along with this practice and going through the motions with the right intention is enough for now.

So with that,

Let's settle in by making any necessary adjustments to your body,

Finding a posture that both invokes wakefulness but also stability and relaxation.

When you're ready,

Closing your eyes.

Taking a moment before beginning the formal practice to reflect briefly on your personal intentions for being here today.

See if you can feel some motivation when you recall why this practice is important to you.

Letting go of the intention and allowing yourself to settle a little bit deeper into stillness.

Beginning to notice the experience you're having already by feeling into the obvious and subtle sensations of the body.

The body's weight,

The position of the limbs,

The contact of clothing with skin,

And the subtle movement of breath coming in and going out.

The torso rising and falling.

Now we're going to intentionally evoke the voice of your inner critic as the object of our self-compassion practice.

We can do this by reflecting on something about yourself,

Perhaps in your main area of performance,

That you feel you need to change.

Something you often beat yourself up about.

This can be a behavior or a tendency that you find unhelpful,

Underdeveloped,

Out of balance,

Imperfect,

Or something about yourself that causes you or others stress.

There's no need to overthink this.

The first one that comes to mind is fine.

Feeling this familiar story in your head,

Allowing images to come and go.

You might also consider if there's something you regularly say to yourself,

The inner language that you use,

Right after an off-peak event,

When you haven't performed as well as you'd expected.

Are there phrases,

Like,

You blew it,

You'll never get it right?

If so,

Calling those to mind now.

Noticing too,

If there are any body sensations or feelings associated with this language.

Going to sit,

Watching any thoughts,

Images,

Emotions that come up for you.

Let's acknowledge the impact that the inner critic has had not only on your performance,

But on your sense of well-being.

Maybe saying to yourself,

Ow,

That hurts.

Or wow,

That's really stressful.

Or mean.

If it feels right to you,

You might experiment with a self-compassionate gesture,

Such as placing a hand or both hands,

Or maybe a fist on your heart.

Holding it there for a moment.

Feeling its warmth,

Its pressure.

And without judgment,

Acknowledging what the inner critical coach has been doing all along.

Yep,

I see you.

I'm on to you.

I know you're just trying to protect me from looking bad,

Getting hurt,

Or failing.

But you can relax.

I don't need you anymore,

Inner critic.

I've got this.

Maybe even imagining this inner critical voice fading to the background,

Taking a deeper,

The normal in-breath,

And releasing through the front of the body on the out-breath.

Now let's make room for the compassionate inner coach.

This coach accepts you exactly as you are,

And wants to encourage you to perform at the highest level.

If you pause to consider what this coach might look like or sound like,

You might call to mind the image of a previous coach,

Or a mentor,

A parent,

Or any supportive figure in your life.

But this doesn't have to be someone you know.

Perhaps it's a famous,

Inspiring figure,

Or someone,

Maybe an image from pop culture,

Someone you respect or may imagine to be a role model.

If this was someone from your past,

Perhaps recalling how it felt when this person worked with you,

What kind of things they said to you,

How they helped you achieve your goals or inspire you.

The aspiration of the compassionate inner coach is for you to achieve everything that's possible for you.

It wants you to know that you have everything you need to win,

And together,

You can make it happen.

Kindness,

Acceptance,

Resilience,

And grit.

This is the essence of the compassionate inner coach.

What other qualities or strengths come to mind when you think of your inner compassionate coach?

Now try talking to yourself from the position of a coach who truly has your best interest at heart and wants you to succeed.

Offering yourself over and over the following compassionate phrases,

Perhaps hearing these words from the inside,

Allowing them to resonate within you.

Letting the following words to take up space to fill your being,

If only for this moment.

Letting these words be your own.

May I feel strong.

May I feel strong.

May I be courageous,

Or may I know my own courage.

May I be kind to myself.

May I treat myself with kindness.

May I be free from fear and stress.

May I be free from suffering.

May I be resilient in the face of challenge.

May I be resilient.

May I know my own value.

May I know I am valuable.

And may I flow with life.

May I flow with life no matter what I'm given.

You can continue practicing with two or three of the phrases that resonate most with you,

Repeating them over and over.

Or if there are phrases that feel more personal to you,

You might repeat those now to yourself silently.

Alright?

Allowing these words to fill you up.

Feeling them in your heart to the best that you can.

And remembering that if you don't feel anything at all,

That's okay too.

Allow these words to be seeds,

Planted,

Ready to sprout when the time is right.

Allowing these words to fill you up.

And now releasing the phrases and allowing yourself to rest in the experience.

Letting everything be as it is.

Perhaps connecting with your breath in the subtle sensations of inhaling and exhaling.

Notice any residue of loving kindness from this practice as you continue to sit.

And as this practice comes to an end,

You might acknowledge yourself for having spent this time cultivating compassion and loving kindness towards yourself.

And for increasing your capacity to live and perform mindfully,

Even during difficult times.

With that,

Let's take one last deeper than normal breath together.

With a nice audible out-breath.

Reviews

Helped me view my inner critic in a much better light.

My favorite guided meditation. It really helps. Thank you so much ❤️

Love this!! Glad to have my compassionate coach on board now. 😍

I feel far more centered right now than I did before the meditation began. I imagine that’s the ultimate destination, so the vehicle worked perfectly. :)

Excellent, thank you! 🙏 💕

Thank you. That was wonderful and just what I needed 🙏!

I like the idea of gently quieting the inner critic coach, while focusing on a compassionate coach.

Excellent! Very helpful. Thank you🙏❤️

Loved it. Very down to earth, simple instructions. I will definitely be doing this one again. Thank you!

Exactly what I needed. Wonderful!

Thank you! It was just what I needed as well.

I really like all the options and affirmations he gives to reflect upon I found myself gravitating to a couple and was allowed time to reflect on it. Thanks

Very nice! Thank you!

Wow. Loved this .....so helpful as I go out into the world

Very helpful awareness of the inner critic & being compassionate. Audio had some noticeable speaker breathing that was slightly distracting. Overall, great meditation.

Very well done. I like the compassionate coach much better than the critical coach! Good way to start the day.