Welcome to this meditation.
In this meditation we will be focusing on self-care.
So take a moment to arrive here,
Giving yourself the space and time to settle your body and your being into the position that feels most helpful in this moment.
Any adjustments,
Any shuffles,
Giving time to care for those knees.
It can be helpful to just pay attention to the breath.
Noticing whereabouts you can feel your breath landing.
Whether it's quite high in your chest,
Further down,
Or all the way down in your abdomen.
There's no need to make it any different than it is.
Allowing it to be exactly the way your lungs need it to be at this point in time.
Self-care is one of those aspects of our relationship with ourselves that we often find difficult to look after.
So it can be helpful to draw attention to the different aspects of self-care.
At its heart,
Self-care is about caring for our needs.
And having the awareness,
Or practicing the awareness,
Of being able to understand the signals,
Signs,
The feelings essentially,
That come from our emotions and our physical sensations and let us know what we need in each moment.
This helps us care for our physical needs,
Our mental needs,
And our social and emotional needs.
Sometimes we struggle to recognize what they are.
We may find it difficult to even notice that we're hungry,
Or that we're tired.
Often it's those most basic needs that we can feel disconnected from.
So the invitation in terms of actually caring for ourselves is to come and start with the most basic ones.
Have I had enough food today?
Or even have I had too much?
Have I had enough sleep?
Am I warm enough or cool enough?
Am I wearing clothes that are actually okay for me and comfortable?
What is my thinking like?
What are some of the thoughts that I'm thinking?
How am I caring for my thoughts?
We always have thoughts and feelings about our thoughts and feelings.
And am I caring for my maybe more difficult thoughts with compassion and kindness?
Or am I criticizing myself for being critical?
How do you practice that caring for yourself?
How do you cultivate that compassion,
That self-love that helps you look after your mental state?
And caring for your social and emotional needs.
That means those connections with yourself and with others.
Doing activities that feel nourishing to you rather than depleting.
Paying attention to how you're prioritizing what you need in order to be okay and well.
You may find it challenging to negotiate and prioritize your needs.
That ability to advocate for yourself.
So just like self-care,
That's a skill that we can practice and cultivate.
In a way that is a seed that we can water and nurture.
It can be helpful to lean into where you feel that you're doing yourself care well enough.
It might be that you are staying on top of your laundry.
Or that you are regularly brushing your teeth.
It might be that you make sure that you prioritize contact with your friend.
Who always feels so nourishing to you.
It can be easy to get drawn into where our self-care isn't quite adequate for us.
So honouring and recognizing the self-care that you are already able to do.
Whilst holding that aspiration of strengthening your self-care.
Of watering the seeds of your self-care.
So that more and more throughout your day you are coming from a place of caring for yourself.
Self-care is an important aspect of our relationship with ourself.
And this relationship is our most fundamental and most important.
Nobody else,
And I do mean that literally,
Nobody else travels with you from your first breath till your last.
Every breath of the way.
So actively practicing your self-care is one of the most important things you can do for yourself.
Along with self-love,
Being aware of your self-worth and practicing your self-advocacy.
Those four aspects,
Including self-care.
Keep you connected to the most important person in your life,
Which is you.
Yes,
It is you.
As we're coming to the end of this meditation,
Give yourself a moment to absorb and observe what you have noticed.
What you are learning about yourself.
What you are appreciating about in terms of the self-care you already do with yourself and for yourself.
And all the feelings along the way.
Feelings are information and it's more helpful to be curious than critical.
Thank you.
