This is a self-compassion meditation.
The practice of self-compassion improves motivation.
It helps us to learn from our mistakes.
And it also offers us some kindness.
And with all the kindness that you offer other people,
Yes,
You are entitled to some kindness too.
So let's take a comfortable seat with our backs straight but not too stiff.
You can let your shoulders drop and your muscles relax.
And you can just let your hands rest on your lap or the chair or wherever they are comfortable.
Tuck in your chin a little bit so that if you keep your eyes open you can just let your gaze soften to the floor.
And first of all we're going to notice the shape of a body.
The overall shape of a body sitting here,
The housing,
The outline of it,
The weight of it on the chair and all of the sensations that inhabit it.
What you are touching right now,
The contact with,
The floor,
The chair,
The clothes on your skin,
All the sounds around you,
Any tingling in the body or a sense of lightness or heaviness,
Any areas of tightness or tension.
And if you find any we can just let them relax on the out breath.
Just allow the tension to leave your body.
And what about the sensations of the breath?
This natural flow of breathing.
Breathing in,
Breathing out and there is no need to change the breath in any way.
It's as if we were letting the breath breathe itself.
And we're just going to put our attention on the physical sensations of breathing.
The cool air going into our nostrils and down our nose and down the back of our throat,
Warm air coming out.
And can you feel the breath in your chest or in your belly rising and falling?
And see if you can follow all these sensations.
All of this continuous enjoyment of breathing.
It's one breath at a time.
That's all we need to do right now.
There is nothing else to do.
There is no one else who needs you right now.
No tasks that you need to accomplish.
Nothing that you need to achieve.
This is just your time to be.
Right now we're just staying with the breath.
And if you mind one down,
One down.
Mind wander and it will wander.
That is absolutely fine.
When you notice just come back to the breath.
That's all you have to do.
This is actually really,
Really valuable practice.
This is how we build the habit.
Just come back to the breath and congratulate yourself because you have noticed that's what it's all about.
And now we can take our attention to our emotions right now.
What can you notice in your emotional landscape?
What are you feeling?
And if you find any discomfort,
We can just acknowledge it and acknowledge that it's a moment of suffering.
Just acknowledge it because it's already here.
We can acknowledge that it hurts.
We can acknowledge that it's hard.
It's stressful.
It might be scary.
And we also know that suffering is inherent in life.
Every living being feels pain.
And this is something that we all have in common.
Even in this moment of hardship.
In this moment where you feel pain and it seems like it's all there is,
You are not alone.
There are other people in the world right now who are feeling exactly what you are feeling.
Maybe with the same intensity or maybe a little less or maybe even a little more.
Other people who are in pain,
Other people who are stressed,
Other people who are feeling fear,
Other people who are heartbroken or lonely.
We are all one.
You are not alone.
This pain is shared.
And if it was a friend of yours,
Someone you love who was feeling this pain,
What would you say to them?
You might say something like I'm here for you.
I care about you.
I'm so sorry you're feeling like this.
And we don't tend to say the same things to ourselves.
We tend to be exacting with ourselves.
We tend to be very stern and demanding.
Demanding that we weather whatever storm life throws at us.
Demanding that we be strong,
Unwavering,
Brave and emotional.
But you wouldn't say these things to a friend.
So be kind to yourself as well.
You do deserve it.
And you could actually offer comfort to yourself.
You could say inside yourself,
It's okay.
This will pass.
It will be okay.
It's hard but I'm not on my own.
It's hard and I will make it through.
It is okay to suffer.
It is okay to feel vulnerable.
It is okay to acknowledge it.
And it is okay to comfort yourself.
Just find whatever words are right for you.
Whatever resonates with you.
Whatever you need and offer it to yourself.
And then come back to a sense of inhabiting your body.
Feeling your body sitting here,
Breathing.
Becoming aware of the sounds around you.
And again the shape and weight,
An outline of your body.
What it feels like to be alive.
What it feels like to be embodied right now.
To be in your life right now,
To be you.
And remember to offer yourself some appreciation for doing this today.
For giving yourself just a few minutes just for yourself,
For your mental health and your wellbeing.
And when you're ready you can start wiggling your toes and fingers and have a little stretch and when you are ready open your eyes.
You can kind of talk.
