Thank you so much for joining me for this self-love meditation.
Take a few moments to get comfortable and settle in and then we'll be beginning.
Meditation can be a really beautiful place to reflect.
We use the analogy of your thoughts being like a leaf on the surface of a river a lot in our meditation.
You're standing on the bank of a river and a thought flows along,
Passing into your field of vision and out of your field of vision without you following it along,
Seeing just what is in front of you.
This is also called the present moment.
Most of the time these thoughts are things that are popping up.
Worries about tomorrow or thoughts about what you should or shouldn't be doing.
The nice thing about guided meditation is that the teacher has a beautiful ability to begin to navigate through some of the thoughts that might pop up,
Hopefully inspiring you to reflect,
To think about things in a new light or in a new way that you haven't before.
Placing leaves on the surface of the water that will gently flow into your field of vision.
The ones that resonate with you slow down as they pass.
The ones that are not meant for you flow right through.
Self-love can be a difficult topic.
We all know that we should love ourselves,
But let's get real.
We live in a world that seems to profit off of us not loving ourselves fully and completely.
We live in a world where loving yourself can feel like a rebellion.
Well friends,
Let's be rebels.
Let's take a deep breath in through our noses and then a long and slow exhale out through our mouths.
This signals to our minds and bodies that we're safe and it's time for meditation.
Let's take one more breath together.
Deep breath in and deep breath out.
As you find the rhythm of your own breath,
Imagine yourself sinking more and more deeply into your couch or bed or wherever you are on every exhale.
Think about the inhale lifting you up and the exhale bringing you back down.
With every breath,
You are feeling more and more weightless.
You are comfortable.
You are safe.
As we meditate on self-love,
Pay attention to what pops up for you.
You can gently ask yourself if what pops up is true or if it is maybe something that the world has told you about yourself.
This is a beautiful and kind sort of inquiry that we can do as we journey towards having more love for ourselves.
Taking a nice deep breath in,
Let's gently inquire what we are holding back.
What is the story that we've been told about our own wholeness,
About our own deserving?
On every exhale,
We begin to let go.
Anything that comes up for us,
We ask ourselves deep down in our hearts,
Is this true?
We think that we need to go looking for self-love,
But what if instead we need to begin to awaken to it?
Let's bring our awareness to our breath.
With each inhale,
Focus on the opening of the chest,
The gentle opening of the heart,
And with each exhale,
We bring that breath back.
The heart stays open,
But the energy grounds.
The inhale focuses on the opening of the chest,
The opening of the heart.
The exhale brings the breath back,
The heart stays open,
But the energy grounds.
Feel the rhythm of this for you,
Without force,
Without pushing or changing,
Letting the heart stay open.
And if you're struggling with this,
That's okay.
Visualize your heart opening a little at a time.
This is a safe space to challenge yourself a little bit.
What are we letting in to these beautiful,
Open hearts?
Let's work on loving the things that we are,
Not coming from a place of lack,
But rather from a space of celebration.
Let's awaken to the love that we have for our character.
Are you kind,
Smart,
Funny,
Compassionate,
Brave,
Resilient,
Honest,
Straightforward,
Hardworking,
Bold?
What parts of your character do you love?
Feel the expansion of your heart as we celebrate these things.
What have you done that you're proud of?
Small and large.
Take a moment to reflect on the moments where you've made yourself proud.
Let's show some love to these amazing bodies that have gotten us through a pandemic.
Again,
Not by following our flaws,
But looking at ourselves and our bodies as a cause for celebration.
We,
Just by being,
Are miracles to be celebrated.
Let's take another deep breath in,
Really feeling the expansion of our hearts,
Visualizing your heart opening and opening,
Wider and wider,
And we breathe into our hearts.
We let the tender,
Strong,
Powerful,
And all-encompassing love for ourselves come in.
Not for anyone else,
Not because we have to,
Not because someone told us we should,
But because it is exactly what we are deserving of.
All other stories that we have been told float away with every exhale.
Deep breath in,
Opening and receiving,
Deep breath out,
Letting go.
Deep breath in,
Opening and receiving,
Deep breath out,
Letting go.
Deep breath in,
Opening and receiving,
Deep breath out,
Letting go.
As we take our last few breaths of this meditation,
We visualize our hearts gently returning to their normal size and shape,
Coming home,
Coming back to center,
Knowing that we can awaken to that deep feeling of self-love again.
It's available to us whenever we need to remember.
Take a moment to bring yourself back to this moment,
Feeling yourself more within your body,
Stretching out fingers and toes and arms and legs.
And whenever you're ready,
You can open your eyes.
Thank you so much for joining me for this meditation.
