Beginning this practice by taking your awareness to the points of contact between your body and surfaces supporting you.
Receiving the sensations of contact and allowing yourself to be supported.
And then bringing to mind a situation in your life that is causing you difficulty right now.
Perhaps a health problem,
A relationship issue,
Difficulties at work or some other struggle.
Choosing a difficulty that you feel able to work with right now.
Not the biggest problem that you may be experiencing.
Allowing yourself to build the resource of self-compassion gradually.
And visualising this situation clearly in your mind's eye.
What is the setting?
Who is saying what to whom?
What is happening?
What might happen?
Seeing the effects of visualising this situation in the body,
What sensations arise.
Perhaps feelings and emotions.
Remembering that you can always return to the points of contact between your body and the ground or the chair in order to steady yourself as we go through this practice.
Now exploring saying to yourself this is a moment of suffering,
Acknowledging what is here.
And perhaps other wording may speak better to you.
This is stressful.
This hurts.
Ouch.
And then acknowledging that suffering is a part of life.
That you're not alone.
Everyone experiences difficulties like this.
This is how it feels when people struggle in this way.
Seeing yourself kindness,
Perhaps saying to yourself may I be kind in this moment of need?
May I give myself what I need?
Perhaps there are particular words of kindness and support that you need to hear right now in this difficult situation.
Some options could be.
May I accept myself as I am?
May I forgive myself?
May I be strong?
May I be patient?
And if you're having difficulty finding the right words,
Imagine a dear friend or loved one is having the same problem.
What would you say to this person?
What simple message would you like to deliver to your friend heart to heart?
And then exploring,
Offering that same message to yourself.
And then ending the practice by letting go of the visualization.
Coming back to the body and the surfaces supporting you.
Opening in with your stability,
Support and opening the awareness to the room or space around you.
