Begin by taking a deep breath in.
Take a deep breath out through the mouth,
Like through a straw.
And take a second deep breath in,
A deep breath out through the mouth,
And a third time,
Breathing in as deeply as you can,
Breathing out through the mouth.
Let your breath settle into its own natural pace and put your hands on your belly.
Let your hands fill with breath.
Stay with the sensations of the breath filling the hands for just a couple minutes.
And if it helps when you inhale,
Say the word inhale.
When you exhale,
Say the word exhale.
Returning to the breath if your mind wanders.
Every time you return to the breath,
You hone the willpower center of your brain.
The moment of willpower is the moment of returning,
So to turn your mind into a finely tuned willpower machine,
Return to the breath.
Returning to the breath again and again,
You calm the craving center in your brain.
Acknowledge that any craving is just a signal in your brain.
If you satisfy the craving,
Often you just crave more.
Meditating you calm the craving center.
So stay connected to your breath and come back when the mind wanders.
When you inhale,
Say the word inhale.
When you exhale,
Say the word exhale.
Keep your body still.
If you want to move,
Notice that and just come back to stillness,
Come back to the breath.
Building the pause between stimulus and response,
That is where our freedom lies.
Your freedom is in that pause where you choose a response.
Feeling the stillness of your body and just feeling the breath going in and out of the body.
Saying inhale each time you inhale and saying exhale each time you exhale.
Acknowledge that this meditation also calms the stress center of your mind.
The more time you spend with the breath in this way,
The less stress you feel.
And if you do feel stress,
It reduces the connection between stress and trauma.
So if there's something on the outside of yourself that you crave,
A substance,
An activity you don't want to engage in anymore,
Come back to your hands on your belly.
Come back to the feeling of the breath.
Come back to the words inhale,
Exhale.
Staying with that feeling,
Staying with those words as an act of deep self-compassion.
Acknowledge that your willpower is your freedom.
Your acts of willpower are your acts of self-compassion.
Being kind to yourself means saying no when your higher self,
Your higher intention,
Your spirit wants to say no.
Maybe your impulse wants to say yes.
Your immediate craving wants to say yes.
Self-compassion is doing what helps you thrive.
What's good for your body?
What's good for your inner stability?
What's good for your mental health?
What supports your long,
Happy life and your long-term goals?
Those are the things you want to say yes to.
Saying no to anything else.
Reconnecting to your breath.
Inhale,
Exhale.
Being here with your breath,
With your full presence.
I make space for myself as I am.
With my habits,
With my patterns,
With my past,
I make space for accepting myself.
In my heart of hearts,
I value my energy,
So I want every action to be aligned with who I want to be.
I value my well-being.
I value my physical health.
I value my mental and emotional health.
Feeling into those words,
Letting them enter your very core.
These reminders of what you deeply want.
You're here to be good to yourself.
Saying,
I am here to be good to my body.
I am here to be good to my heart.
I value my inner peace.
I value my energy levels,
My health.
I value my vitality and my ability to do good for myself and to do good for the world.
The world is here for me to love and enjoy.
I belong unconditionally in my heart.
Acknowledging that you are here because you were entrusted with this body.
You are here to take care of this body.
You were entrusted with the care of this spirit and this heart.
Your emotions,
Your inner world have infinite value.
You are here to care for them through all states,
All moods,
All circumstances.
Feeling your deepest desire at your core and feeding your core.
Not settling for the superficial.
Not settling for the quick easy solution to happiness.
Finding deep happiness.
Take a deep breath in.
Take a deep breath out through the mouth.
Letting your inner world always be compassionate to yourself.
And letting that guide your choices.
With the hand still on the heart saying,
I will never engage in violence against myself.
I will never betray myself.
Not in small ways,
Not in big ways.
I will create the safe,
Healthy container for myself.
Even if it means saying no to certain things that may be pleasant in the moment.
I will still create that safe container,
That safe space for myself.
And now set the intention to create the circumstances that help you thrive.
Imagine in your mind's eye now the circumstances that will help you reach a higher level of thriving.
Be very still in your body right now.
Just calmly feel the breath,
The breath of life move through your body.
Feel your body pulsate with energy.
So much energy to do good for yourself and good for the world.
Feeling that you have infinite value and you are here to serve.
Including serving your body and your heart.
Feel that final moment of connection of hand to heart,
Heart to hand.
Let every action also be connected.
And now finally honor yourself,
Honor your mind for getting you through this meditation.
When the mind might have been more interested in distracting itself.
Staying with this awareness of yourself,
Your value and the present moment even after you open your eyes.
Even as you open your eyes stay connected to your deep value.
And notice the lightness,
The ease that this self-compassionate,
Aware attitude brings to your body and heart.
Release your hand now.
Let your spine be straight.
Feel this posture of dignity in your body.
And take that final deep breath in.
Breathe out slowly through the mouth.
And now as you open your eyes you are ready to take on any challenge.
You are ready to make choices that are good for you.
You are ready to say yes to what is serving you and no to what no longer serves you.
And you are ready to make any choice,
Any decision big or small from your higher self.
Opening your eyes and coming back to your reality.
Thank you.
