Here's a peaceful guidance into a beautiful experience of kindness towards your own body. It is particularly helpful if you live with pain or have a challenging relationship with your body.
This meditation is to support participants of the Mindfulness-Based Compassionate Living Course (MBCL) developed by Frits Koster and Erik van den Brink.
Kindness for the body meditation for this meditation I invite you to lie down so the body can be as comfortable as possible supported and warm and allowing the breath to settle into soothing rhythm and giving weight up to gravity inviting the muscles to soften and relax and now connecting with the parts of your body you feel contented and at ease with it may be because it is strong healthy or good-looking or because it is a reliable companion it functions well or gives you joy noticing how this part feels and sensing what it needs and then allowing a kind wish to flow to it in the same way as you can send kindness to a person you have a good relationship with you can also direct kindness to a bodily part you have a good relationship with as if it were a person whatever your rational mind might think of it you could use phrases like may you feel healthy and happy feel relaxed and cared for enjoy the goodness of life or whatever connects well allowing the breath to support you perhaps by breathing towards and attuning to this part on the in-breath and maybe saying may you and by letting kindness flow towards this part of the body on the out-breath and whispering feel happy or in another way that feels natural to you explore both the giving and receiving aspects of this practice how's the wish received in this part of the body you can change the words or adapt your inner attitude to facilitate it being accepted I may be including other parts of the body with which you have a good relationship and treat these two kind wishes resting a while in the soothing breath and then connecting with the bodily part with which you have a fairly neutral relationship this might be because it mostly goes unnoticed and you do not see it or feel it very often gently tuning to this part of the body on the breath and letting words of kindness to flow to it for example may you be accepted may you belong to the body as a whole or I wish you happiness notice how the wish is received and perhaps continue with other parts to which you feel relatively neutral and inviting your attention again to rest on the breath if needed allowing a soothing rhythm to return and now connecting with the parts of your body you have a difficult relationship with it may be because you feel uncomfortable or ashamed about it you find it unattractive when you see it in the mirror or it malfunctions and is vulnerable a source of pain or illness maybe it was injured or it had surgery and observe what you experience there right now do you sense what its deeper needs are and then allowing a compassionate wish to flow to this part on a soothing rhythm of the breath may you feel as healthy as can be have courage be strong and bear with the suffering oh I wish you comfort kindness all the care you need sensing how it is received and do not hesitate to alter the words of necessary noticing your thoughts and feelings in open kind awareness while sending kindness to this part of the body allowing space for painful emotions and sadness you may wish to continue with the same part or another part with which you have a difficult relationship and now expanding awareness to the whole body holding it in an embrace of kindness and compassion realizing how this body has been your companion all your life in joyful and in difficult times as you can have good neutral and difficult relationships with various members of your family so you can have variable relationships with different parts of your body including all these parts in your caring embrace and offering kindness and gratitude to this body as if it were one family with all of the qualities vulnerabilities and imperfections of its various members finishing the practice with kindly wishes may you feel safe as healthy as can be strong and courageous whole and peaceful
