Hello and welcome amazing humans to this meditation on self-compassion.
Self-compassion to me in one word is magic.
Self-compassion is often the answer to so many of our struggles in our life.
But what I often see as a coach who works with busy,
Ambitious,
Overachieving humans is our default response to beat ourselves up.
To criticize ourselves,
To judge ourselves,
To put ourselves down instead of build ourselves up.
We tend to feel as though we could always do or be better.
Nothing is ever quite enough.
And this leads to burnout,
Disappointment,
Or even despair.
This is something that we learn.
We learn to be hard on ourselves.
We learn to hustle.
We learn to push and force.
But today in this meditation,
We are going to relearn a way of being and thinking.
And when we can relearn a way of being and thinking,
We can redesign the outcomes and the circumstances of our lives.
With the practice of self-compassion,
We can intentionally choose a different outcome,
One that serves our highest good,
The greatest good of our communities,
And ultimately the world.
Today I'm going to walk you through a three-step process as developed by the brilliant and amazing Kristin Neff.
So let's get started.
Take the next moment here to get nice and comfortable.
You can either sit or lie down,
Whatever you choose,
Whatever shape you choose.
Just make sure you feel really comfortable,
Maybe even feeling nurtured and cared for.
Taking a moment here to notice the breath,
Just becoming aware of where you feel the breath the most.
Do you feel it in the nose or the throat,
Chest,
Or belly?
And starting to observe the breath as it moves in through the nose and out through the nose.
Allowing yourself to settle in and be present in this moment.
With your next couple breaths,
Starting to deepen the breath.
So longer,
Deeper,
Fuller inhales in,
And longer,
Deeper exhales out.
Inhaling breathe deep down into the very depth of the lungs,
And exhale out the breath fully and completely.
One more time just like that,
Inhaling in,
And then a deep exhale out.
Now thinking of an area in your life where you may be beating yourself up,
You might be picking yourself apart.
A place where you might be criticizing or second guessing or thinking you could have done better or putting a ton of pressure on yourself.
Maybe it's the way you reacted during a heated conversation with a loved one.
Maybe you did that thing that you said you weren't going to do.
Whatever it is,
Just start to take yourself there.
Bringing it to your mind's eye.
Putting both hands over your heart.
We're first just going to acknowledge the reality of the situation.
Acknowledge this is painful.
This is not fun.
This doesn't feel good.
When we acknowledge the pain,
It puts us in our power to change it.
So just acknowledge.
This is hard.
This is tough.
And with your next deep inhale in,
Start to breathe in some kindness and some compassion.
Yes,
This is hard and also I'm human.
I'm imperfect and I'm still amazing.
I am okay.
I am going to be okay.
I am a good person.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
Feel to relax.
And step number two of self-compassion,
With the hands still on the heart,
Allowing yourself to feel nurtured and cared for.
We acknowledge that we're not alone.
Failing messing up,
Saying the wrong thing.
These are common human experiences.
You are not alone.
Saying it in your mind or out loud,
I am not alone.
I am a human having a human experience.
There are others out there feeling the way that I feel.
I am human and imperfect and I am still enough.
Take a deep breath in through your nose.
Feel the rise of your heart and your chest and exhale,
Let it go.
Step number three is reminding yourself that this experience does not define you.
You do not need to over identify or blow this experience out of proportion.
This experience with curiosity,
With mindfulness and with compassion.
This does not define me.
Now drawing your hands down either by your sides or in your lap with the palms face up.
Allowing the body to feel open,
Expansive and bring a gentle lift into your heart.
Draw the chin gently away from the chest in a gesture of pride,
Of love,
Of compassion,
Of warmth,
Of safety.
Today I choose to move through my day with compassion,
With kindness,
With love.
I will do my absolute best to move through my day with compassion,
Warmth and understanding.
I am human and I am amazing.
Taking a deep breath in through your nose,
Last time together sealing in and solidifying this sensation of self-compassion.
Breathe it in and then exhale to let it sink into the bones.
Thank you so much for meditating with me today.
Have a wonderful day.
Namaste.
