Loving Kindness Meditation

In this meditation, I will first guide you to find a comfortable position to practice in and direct your attention to your breath, particularly in the center of your chest around your heart space. I'll then guide you through a visualization practice where you first send love and compassion to a version of yourself, loved ones, and then others. We will then finish the practice with another short grounding exercise.

Transcript

In today's practice we're going to focus on being gentle and loving and kind first with ourselves then with others sending out our positive energy to any who may need it today. So for today's practice go ahead and find any comfortable position for you whatever that may look like right now you could be standing could be supported against a wall sitting in a chair or on a cushion maybe sitting on the floor or even lying down on the floor whatever comfortable spot looks like for you right now go ahead and take it and try to make yourself as comfortable as possible once you've found your spot allow your eyes to close if that feels okay for you and just take a few quiet breaths here as you begin to feel comfortable in your body where you're at so begin to bring your focus to the center of your chest toward your solar plexus focusing here and breathing from your heart and chest area can help generate kind feelings toward yourself if this is difficult for you maybe areas of self-judgment or self-hate begin to rise up try to drop beneath those and find that place where you truly care for yourself where you want strength and safety for yourself any thoughts feelings or emotions that rise up notice them and let them be without needing to engage in a dialogue begin to imagine yourself in your mind's eye picture you're sitting or standing across from yourself or lying next to yourself and think about some of the best qualities that you have or the things that you like most about yourself silently repeat may i be happy may i be healthy may i be safe may i be at ease and begin to visualize somebody else somebody who invites in you a feeling of pure unconditional loving-kindness imagine this person sitting across from you or lying next to you somebody who gives you love and kindness without expecting anything in return as you look upon this person in your mind's eye repeat the mantras for them may you be happy may you be healthy may you be safe may you be at ease begin to think of another person somebody who's a dear friend or a dear relative somebody who could use your loving kindness today imagine them next to you picture them in your mind's eye continue breathing in and out of your heart center and when you feel ready repeat this phrase for them may you be happy may you be healthy may you be healthy may you be safe may you be at ease may you be safe next we'll move to a neutral person to us so somebody who you don't feel particularly strongly about you neither like nor dislike maybe an acquaintance a contact maybe even somebody that you saw when you were out and about sometime this week probably somebody that you don't know very well visualize this person before you continue breathing from your heart space allow yourself for just a moment to feel tenderness and care for this person's welfare imagine if you could say to them out loud may you be happy may you be healthy may you be safe may you be at ease let the images of any people begin to dissolve or drift away from your mind's eye and bring your focus back to your breath in and out through your heart space when you feel ready gently blink your eyes open take one more full conscious deep breath in through your nose fill up your lungs feel your heart space open your mouth and release this breath in a sigh bring your palms together towards your heart and show yourself appreciation for practicing your meditation today thank you for practicing with me today namaste you