When you're ready we can get started,
Find a comfortable position for your meditation today,
Either sitting down on the ground or in a chair or maybe lying down,
Wherever you are.
We want to have an open heart today so stretching your spine a little bit taller and roll your shoulders down your back,
Open up your heart,
Make any final movements,
Adjustments,
Grab any props,
Anything you need before we get started.
Just bring your awareness to the areas of your body that are touching the ground or the chair or your support,
Just notice how that feels,
See if you are holding yourself up and maybe if you can trust your support and the ground a little bit more and allow your body to arrive here and relax,
Let your spine be long but relaxed,
Shoulders away from your ears down your back,
Soften your jaw,
Let your tongue rest gently away from the roof of the mouth,
Soften your gaze or close your eyes if that feels comfortable,
Soften your eyebrows,
The space between your eyebrows,
Your third eye,
Your forehead,
And then from the crown of the head all the way down to your toes,
Just notice if there's any part of your body that you're holding on to that you can soften and let go of just a little bit more,
Just arriving here for our meditation on self-compassion,
Where can I show myself more compassion today?
We're going to think of a time where we were hard on ourselves so just think of that as we get started,
Take a deep breath in through your nose and then a slow audible sigh through your mouth,
Let it all go,
Two more like that,
Deep inhale,
Open your mouth and slowly sigh it out,
Let it go,
And last one,
Deep inhale,
Full and complete exhale,
Let it all go through your mouth,
Now allow your breath to return to its natural rhythm and breathe in and out of your nose if that feels comfortable,
So just allowing your breath to be natural and comfortable in your body,
Just notice how your breath feels if it's deep or shallow,
Fast or slow,
Just noticing where you feel your breath,
Maybe it's in your belly,
Maybe it's the movement in your chest,
Maybe it's the air as it moves in and out of your nostrils,
Just noticing where in your body you can feel your breath,
Now bring your awareness to the center of your chest,
Your heart space,
This is the physical center of your compassion,
Think of this as the space where your compassion lives for yourself and for others,
And for our breathing exercise today,
We are going to practice breathing in and out of this heart center,
So just keeping your awareness at the center of your chest,
See if you can send your breath directly to this area,
Breathing directly into your heart,
Feel the warmth,
The expansion as you inhale,
And as you exhale visualize your breath moving out of your heart,
Letting that energy flow,
With every inhale you're expanding,
And with every exhale you're softening,
Allowing your heart to settle,
Just continue breathing,
Visualizing your breath moving to your heart center,
And then moving out,
As you breathe in and out of your heart,
Just visualize your breath clearing this area in your body,
Creating a soft,
Open spot for the thoughts that we're going to explore,
With every inhale you're sending your breath to your heart,
With every exhale you're clearing your heart center,
As you continue to breathe just notice if you can maybe deepen your inhales just a little bit more,
And lengthen your exhales,
So deepening your breath just as much as it feels comfortable in your body,
Not forcing it,
Allowing your breath to still feel comfortable,
See if with every breath you can take in just a little bit more air as you inhale,
And then empty just a little bit more as you exhale,
Sending deep breaths to your heart,
And then clearing and cleaning your heart center of anything that's stuck there with every exhale,
Softening and letting go of any feeling that you don't need right now,
As you breathe here with your heart open,
Start to think about a situation where you've been struggling with,
It could be recently or a time that you can remember right now,
Maybe it was a mistake that you made,
Maybe it was a difficult conversation that didn't go well,
Maybe it was a goal that you didn't meet,
Pick one thing that you can think of that you were your harshest critic,
Where you judged yourself,
Or maybe you were a little too hard on yourself,
Something that didn't go the way you planned it and made you feel upset with yourself,
And just thinking about that situation or that time,
Just notice if any feelings come up,
How have you been reacting towards it,
Were you maybe upset with yourself or blaming yourself,
Did you feel embarrassment,
Notice any harsh feelings or thoughts towards yourself about that situation,
And as you think about those thoughts and feelings,
Just notice how your body feels,
Notice if there's any tightness anywhere in your body as you bring those thoughts or memories into your mind,
Maybe you start to replay the memory and think about what you should have done or could have done differently,
Maybe you're starting to frown or clench your jaw,
Maybe your shoulders are a little bit tighter,
Notice your breath,
Notice if your breath is a little bit less deep now,
Just identify anything that is different in your body now think of someone you love,
Maybe a really close friend or a close family member,
Somebody you really love and respect,
And just imagine that person facing the exact same situation so picture them sitting with you and just telling you about that memory,
About them making that mistake or that difficult conversation they had or failing to meet a goal,
Whatever situation you had thought of imagine your friend and loved one telling you the exact same thing and how they feel about it,
The shame,
The embarrassment,
The blame,
How would you respond to them?
What would you do or say?
How would you try to make them feel better,
To comfort them,
To lift their spirits,
To encourage them,
What would you do?
Just feel that kindness,
That compassion that you have towards that person right now and just notice if that perspective about that exact same situation has completely shifted for you notice how your body feels as you try to comfort them or talk to them,
Make them feel better,
Notice how you feel,
How your breath feels imagine that that friend,
That loved one is yourself,
Take that exact level of kindness,
Of empathy,
Of encouragement and just turn it inward towards yourself like you're sitting beside yourself and telling yourself those exact things you were telling your friend with the same tone,
With the same words for many of us this,
It's really hard because we would never speak to a friend or a loved one the way we talk to ourselves notice how your inner dialogue and the things you say to yourself now are different from the beginning and just notice the impact this has in your breath,
In your body,
In your heart center notice if you have a little bit more space in your heart to breathe when you choose kindness and compassion towards yourself for the next few minutes I will say some affirmations and you can choose to repeat them silently to yourself or you can just listen I am doing the best I can and that's enough it's okay to make mistakes I'm only human I don't have to be perfect to be worthy of kindness my value is not defined by how much I got done today I don't need to have all the answers right now one moment of failure does not define my entire journey this is just a tough moment,
It isn't a tough life now let go of the affirmations and the thoughts and come back to the physical sensation in your heart center inhaling in the heart center and exhaling from the heart compassion isn't about being perfect it's about being a friend to yourself when things are messy when you hear your inner critic start to be unkind just breathe into your heart and ask yourself would I say this to a friend take a deep breath in and a long breath out one more like that,
Deep inhale full and complete exhale slowly start to bring some movement back to your body wiggling your fingers,
Your toes be gently rocking your head from side to side roll your shoulders up towards your ears and down your back when you're ready slowly start to open your eyes and bring your hands to your heart center bow your head to your hands thank yourself for coming to your practice today thumbs to your third eye,
The space between your eyebrows may your thoughts be kind thumbs to your lips,
May your words be caring and thumbs to your heart center may your heart be filled with love and gratitude thank you for practicing with me today namaste
