Taking a few moments to feel all the points of support from beneath the body.
If supportive,
You can invite in a few of those deeper inhales.
Releasing on the exhale,
And if that feels good,
A couple more times.
And if you also find it helpful as a reminder of our intention for self-kindness,
You can also take a moment to place a hand on the heart or elsewhere on the body,
Just taking a moment to come into connection with this body,
Heart and mind.
You can rest the hand here or wherever feels comfortable for this practice.
So,
In your own time,
Inviting you to bring to mind an event that's clearly in the past when you felt embarrassed or mildly ashamed.
Some possible examples,
You complained about someone in an email and then you accidentally sent it to them.
Maybe you were in a meeting and it was pointed out that your performance wasn't as strong as a colleague's.
Maybe you made a mistake.
Just taking a moment to see if an event comes to mind and if not,
You can always return to this practice at a later time.
And seeing now if you can bring the situation to life in your mind,
What happened,
And as you do this,
Recall how you felt.
Noticing any physical sensations of embarrassment or shame that are arising.
And you can even try labelling the experience.
You might say,
Ah,
This is shame.
This is how shame feels.
And seeing if you can extend this gesture of allowing.
Just this sense of creating space around whatever sensations are here.
If you need to at any point,
Just recalling the situation again to notice the feelings that are arising.
And getting curious.
Where are the sensations felt the most in the body?
Is it in the face,
Shoulders,
Chest,
Belly?
And you can also gently ask yourself,
What am I believing here?
So gently seeing or sensing if there are any negative core beliefs around.
It might be,
I'm unlovable or unacceptable.
I'm not good enough.
I'm a bad person.
And reminding yourself that shame can feel isolating.
But in this moment,
What you're experiencing is similar to everyone engaging with this practice.
So this feeling that you're feeling is a universal emotion.
And you can also remember that this stems from the innocent wish to be loved or to be appreciated or to belong.
So seeing if you can connect with the innocent wish that lies beneath the shame.
And seeing now if you can offer some kindness and care towards yourself or towards this part that feels the shame.
So you may place a hand over any part of the body that feels uncomfortable.
You might imagine that there's warmth or kindness streaming through the fingers into the body.
And if you identified a negative belief,
Seeing if you can offer yourself a loving kindness phrase to meet it.
So taking a moment to connect with the heart,
The heart space.
And you may say to yourself,
May I know that I am enough?
Or you might say,
May I know that I am lovable?
May I trust in my goodness?
And gently checking in if there are any other words you really need to hear right now.
Or you can imagine that someone you care about has come to you and they're feeling ashamed.
What words would you say to them?
Just taking your time.
It might be,
I love you.
Or I accept you.
Or I'm going to take good care of you.
And for these last few moments,
Just dropping any sense of practice.
Allowing yourself to rest in your body.
Allowing your experience to be as it is.
