05:37

Self-Compassion Break

by Susan Sweetwater

Rated
4.7
Type
guided
Activity
Meditation
Suitable for
Everyone
Plays
6.9k

Life presents plenty of challenges throughout our days. When it all begins to feel a bit overwhelming, why not give yourself a self-compassion break? Inspired by the work of Kristen Neff and Christopher Germer, this meditation helps you pause and bring some soothing to difficult emotions.

Self CompassionSoothingEmotional AwarenessGroundingBreathingSelf SoothingSufferingDeep BreathingSuffering Awareness

Transcript

Hello,

And welcome to this guided self-compassion break meditation.

And you can do this meditation in any position,

Seated or standing,

Lying down,

Wherever you are.

Let's take a moment to come into awareness of our contact with the earth,

Sensing into the contact through the bottoms of the feet or if you're lying down through the parts of the body that are held,

Supported,

Feeling the sensations of contact and support,

And knowing that wherever you are,

Whatever surface holds you,

That underneath it all,

Underneath us,

Always,

Always is the earth.

And also bringing awareness to the breath,

Just allowing the breath to move easily,

Or if it feels like it might be helpful to take a few consciously deep,

Long breaths with deep,

Long out breaths as a way to kind of reset the nervous system.

Go ahead and let yourself do that.

Bringing awareness to the breath,

Whatever form it takes right now,

To the sensations of breathing.

And now,

Considering what it is that brought you to this practice,

What has you turning towards a self-compassion break right now?

Recognizing if there's stress,

Overwhelm,

Difficult emotions perhaps,

Physical or emotional pain,

And whatever it is,

Making the choice to move towards it,

To turn towards it with the intention of bringing self-compassion and naming what's here.

Stress is here.

Suffering is here.

This is difficult.

This is a hard moment.

Just labeling what's here.

And reminding yourself that difficult emotions,

That suffering,

Stress,

Is part of life.

It's a natural part of being a human being.

Reminding yourself too that whatever you're experiencing is something that many humans are experiencing at this very moment,

And that many humans will experience at some point in their lives.

And now,

Bringing some comfort to yourself,

Bringing comfort through the way that you talk to yourself,

Through your words,

As if you're offering comfort to a dear friend,

Or a child in your life,

Or some other loved one.

You might consider what it is that you most need to hear right now.

Maybe it's,

Oh,

It's okay,

It's going to be okay.

Or maybe it's,

I know it's hard now,

And it will pass.

You might need,

For some part of you,

To remind this hurt part of yourself,

I'm here for you.

I care about you.

And maybe offering some gesture of comfort,

A hand on the heart,

Or maybe bringing both hands to the cheeks,

And holding,

Or even gently patting the cheeks.

Or maybe wrapping your arms around yourself and giving yourself a big hug.

Bringing what feels most right to you right now.

Bringing yourself wishes to feel better,

Even as you accept what's here right now.

And just checking in now,

To see what it feels like in your heart,

In your chest.

Bring this kind of comfort and caring to yourself.

And if you're prepared to wrap up this meditation,

I'll be just taking a moment to reconnect with the breath,

And with your feet,

Or whatever parts of the body are held and supported by the earth.

And this ends our meditation.

Meet your Teacher

Susan SweetwaterIndianola, WA, USA

4.7 (575)

Recent Reviews

Jamita

August 11, 2025

❀️❀️

Martha

November 28, 2023

Kind and gentle , thank you

Rosanne

August 1, 2023

Gentle guidance and soothing voice are really helpful. I didn't want it to end, though I chose this because it was short and that's all I had time for now. Thank you!

katherine

April 3, 2022

This is a lovely few minutes of self compassion and self love.

Robert

March 13, 2022

Thanks you gave me a lift today, just what I needed.

Richard

August 11, 2021

Really enjoying your meditations - peaceful voice that anchors me in the present - thank you

JM

April 24, 2020

So efficient and soothing xxx

Teresa

January 31, 2020

Simply perfect - thank you

Sherri

October 17, 2019

Like like like like like πŸ’š

Doreen

October 17, 2019

This is lovely. Thank you. ❀

Vicky

October 16, 2019

This was a beautiful meditation that went straight to my soul and provided comfort on a challenging day. Thank you.

Francesca

October 16, 2019

Just beautiful, thank you 😊

Paula

October 16, 2019

Really needed this. So hard to love yourself. Such a calming voice too. Thank you

Vittoria

October 16, 2019

Lovely, thank you

Maree

October 16, 2019

I enjoyed the self hug and face touching, this was very comforting. Thank you πŸ™

Bo

October 16, 2019

Enjoyed this self-compassion as I don’t always show it to myself. Am always giving to others. I needed this. πŸ™πŸΌβ€οΈπŸ™πŸΌ

Beth

October 16, 2019

Thank you for this moment of self compassion.

Lee

October 16, 2019

Absolutely beautiful! Just what I needed today. Much Gratitude and Many Blessings! πŸŒ»πŸ’πŸ¦‹

Ryan

October 16, 2019

Just what I needed. Thanks!

Kyra

October 16, 2019

Thank you 🌹🌺πŸ₯€

More from Susan Sweetwater

Loading...

Related Meditations

Loading...

Related Teachers

Loading...
Β© 2026 Susan Sweetwater. All rights reserved. All copyright in this work remains with the original creator. No part of this material may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

How can we help?

Sleep better
Reduce stress or anxiety
Meditation
Spirituality
Something else