So today we've got a short practice to help you take care of yourself if you're having a hard day or a hard week or a hard moment.
When we are internally kind to ourselves,
It helps activate the neurophysiology of care and of kindness.
And this can really help soothe our nervous system and support emotional regulation.
A lot of people find that showing compassion or kindness to themselves is the hardest.
But as Pema Chodron once said,
If our compassion does not include ourselves,
Then it's incomplete.
And so this is called compassionate breathing practice.
You can begin by letting your body find a comfortable way to sit.
If sitting isn't sustainable for you today,
Laying down is all right,
But see if you can find a position where your body is.
Alert enough to stay awake.
So you might sit on a bolster,
Lean against a wall.
Be kind to yourself.
As you set out.
Hmm.
And then once you've found a way to be for the next few minutes.
We'll start by taking a few long,
Slow breaths just to arrive.
So inhale through your nose.
Let the body fill up.
And you can sigh that out with a long exhale,
Let your shoulders drop.
And then do that again,
Breathing in,
Nourishing breath,
Let the body fill.
And a full exhale,
Belly could relax.
And take one more round like that.
So now we'll begin by generating the feeling of care or compassion inside ourselves.
So as your body rests with the breath.
You can gently bring to your mind a dear friend or a person that you love,
Somebody who it's really easy with.
And just imagine if there's.
.
.
Person had said to you that they're having a tough day?
And you can imagine how you would feel towards them when they said that,
How you might support them,
What you would say,
What you would do.
And then tune in to the pure feeling itself.
This sense of care.
Of support.
Of leaning in to help.
And find that feeling in your body.
That feeling of compassion.
You might feel it as a kind of warmth in your chest as you breathe.
You might feel it kind of like a colour.
Like a gold or a pin.
Really generating this feeling of care.
So now.
.
.
We're going to use the breath.
Notice how the body is inhaling and exhaling naturally without needing to try or do anything special.
And as you breathe in,
Imagine that you're stoking this feeling of kindness and care.
Inside yourself.
Like gently blowing on coals in a fireplace.
As you inhale,
A sense of compassion,
Of care,
Fills your body.
It might be the sense of that color filling your body.
You might imagine it even like water filling up all the way.
From your pelvis up into the body.
Maybe like a glowing light.
Inhaling.
Kindness,
Compassion.
Into you.
Now become aware of your exhale breath as well.
And when you breathe out.
Allow this.
Sense of compassion.
To spread and settle in your body.
Like it diffuses all through your being.
Soaks in.
Continuing like this.
Every inhale,
Breath and nourishing offering.
Care and kindness.
For your body,
For your heart mind.
And every exhale.
This feeling settles and soaks into your being.
As you continue to breathe.
With this sense of compassion.
If any difficult thoughts or feelings arise that aren't kind,
That's okay.
In fact,
It's normal that that comes up in this kind of practice.
So if you feel that,
You can simply acknowledge that those thoughts or feelings are arising and then breathe some of the compassion for them.
So you're breathing in some kindness for the difficult things that arise.
You don't have to make them go away.
You can include them in the compassionate breathing.
Take care of yourself through whatever arises.
And from here.
Really gently we'll relax the practice.
You can allow your body to just gently breathe itself in the background.
Take your time.
To open your eyes.
To have a little stretch.
And when you're ready.
You can head back out into your day.
Thank you.
