Hello my friend.
I want to welcome you to this meditation for self-compassion.
Find a quiet and comfortable place where you can sit or lie down and find stillness.
If you'd like you can close the eyes or soften the gaze and move your attention to your breath.
Take an inhale through the nose,
Breathing slowly yet fully and then exhale out the nose.
With the next three slow cycles of breath allow each exhale to be just as long as each inhale,
Maybe even longer.
Feel your body begin to settle into your chair or into the back of the body if you're lying down.
Notice the energy within and around you settle and still.
As you continue to breathe with an open curiosity notice what's present in your body right now.
Notice what you're feeling.
Open yourself up to listening to your body and ask if there's a physical sensation that needs your attention.
If there is,
Move your attention toward that space of the body and send your breath and compassion there,
Breathing space and ease into that area of your body.
Send your attention there without any judgment or expectation of what this part of your body should be doing or should be feeling and instead simply practice awareness around whatever you're currently experiencing.
Bring awareness to the whole body now as you sit or rest on your back.
Breathing fully,
Breathing slowly.
Notice what's present with you now.
And with your whole body in mind or this particular area that needs your attention,
Silently say to yourself,
May this part or my whole body be safe and well and free of pain.
As you say these words,
Imagine energy flowing from your heart into this area of your body or into your body as a whole,
A warm,
Healing and loving energy.
And silently say to yourself,
May my body have everything it needs to be safe and well.
May I accept my body with deep gratitude regardless of how it feels right now.
As you say these words,
Allow yourself to feel them.
Feel a heartfelt gratitude for your body and everything that it's capable of,
Everything it allows you to experience.
And then silently say with me,
May I extend the same loving kindness to my body as I do to my most beloved.
Let your body relax and soften now.
Now shift your attention to your thoughts.
Notice what thoughts may be arising,
Floating to the surface of your brain.
Without judgment or expectation,
Simply observe them.
Notice what you may be thinking or perhaps an inner dialogue that's been repeating itself to you lately.
As you notice these thoughts,
Particularly any that may be negative or stressful or even potentially harmful,
I invite you to send compassion to these thoughts and this part of your mind.
Imagine a warm glowing healing light flowing from your heart upward to your brain enveloping these thoughts with the loving kindness that you show to those you love most.
Ask your heart with curiosity what healing message your mind needs to receive right now.
Perhaps a healing message like,
You are enough or you are loved or you are worthy,
Feels good to receive right now.
Speak that loving message to yourself now.
Finally,
Notice any emotion that may be arising in the body.
With kind observation,
Again no need for judgment,
No need to resist whatever emotion or feeling is rising to the surface.
Just allow it to come.
As you breathe,
Give yourself permission to feel whatever it is you need to feel in this moment.
Whether this feeling is positive or negative or somewhere in between,
Sadness or anger or even gratitude and joy,
Allow yourself to fully feel this emotion and as you experience the beautiful human experience of feeling an emotion,
Give yourself that same loving kindness to your emotions as you do to your most beloved.
Allow that warm healing light from your heart to envelop you as you experience these feelings knowing that it's okay,
That it's beautifully human and that feeling our emotions can be a healing experience.
Allowing this space of your heart center to be filled with this sense of self-compassion,
This warm loving healing light,
This loving kindness.
Allow it to fill you.
And now I invite you to place left hand over heart,
Right hand over belly.
Breathing in to your palms,
Feeling the loving touch of your own hands.
Rest in awareness that your body is well loved,
That your body is worthy of love.
Rest in awareness that you are well loved and that you are worthy of your own love.
Rest in awareness that the love we extend to ourselves is not limited,
That we are allowed to extend it to ourselves always as we do to others.
Continue to feel the flow of loving kindness from the center of your heart and be present with this sensation for as long as you'd like.
When you're ready to close this meditation,
Carry this kindness with you as far as you can into the rest of your day.
Thank you for practicing with me.
Namaste.
