Welcome to today's short guided meditation for self-love.
Take some time to get settled in your space,
Making yourself comfortable,
Gently closing the eyes,
And bringing the attention inward.
I invite you to notice your feet connected to the ground,
Your hips and legs connected to your seat or the ground,
And allow your awareness to drop down into the body.
Allow yourself to sit tall,
Relaxed but still alert.
Feel the back upright,
The chin slightly tucked.
Inhale through the nose and exhale through the nose,
Taking full deep breaths in and out.
As you breathe,
Become aware of how you feel in your body,
Noticing any physical sensations that are present for you,
And become aware too of the quality of your mind in this moment.
Notice where in the body you might be holding some tension.
Notice whether you may be closed off or shut down to emotion,
And notice the mind.
Is the mind wandering,
Or can you be here and now?
Is your mind at ease,
Or is there a sense of restlessness?
As you continue to breathe in and out through the nose,
Allow the inward breath to be deep and nourishing,
And allow the exhale,
The outward breath,
To bring with it a sense of letting go of any tension you might be holding.
I invite you to place both hands over your heart as you continue to inhale through your nose and exhale through your nose.
Ask yourself how it feels to place your hands on your heart,
This place where you experience love for yourself and for others.
Put your hands over your heart,
Continuing to breathe deeply in a relaxed and natural rhythm.
Let your breath become more smooth and effortless with every breath.
With each exhale,
Imagine letting go of tension,
Tension in the form of physical sensations or negative thoughts that may be lingering in your mind.
And now with each inhale,
Think,
I love myself,
And on each exhale,
I am enough.
With every inhale,
I love myself,
With every exhale,
I am enough.
If the mind wanders,
It's okay,
It's normal,
Just notice and gently guide yourself back to the breath and back to the mantra,
I love myself,
I am enough.
If you become distracted by sounds or physical sensations in the body,
Again just notice,
Gently come back,
I love myself,
I am enough.
Now in your mind's eye,
Picture yourself standing in front of a mirror and looking into your own eyes.
What do you see as you look into your eyes?
Is there pain or grief,
Perhaps love or joy?
Or maybe it's difficult to connect to what you see in your own eyes.
Irrespective of what you see in your reflection,
Tell yourself,
I love you and you are enough.
I love you and you are enough.
Know that what you see in the mirror in this moment is perhaps different to what you'll see the next time you look.
Imagine now that you're breathing into your heart and visualize love pouring out of your hands and into your heart.
Let this love permeate every cell in your body,
Moving outward from your heart center.
Feel this loving energy,
This sense of comfort and calm moving throughout your body,
Through the chest,
The shoulders,
Arms,
Hands,
Down through the tummy into the pelvis,
The legs and the feet.
Allow this comforting,
Calm,
Loving energy to fill every cell in your body.
As you continue to breathe deeply,
Know that this love is always available to you here and now.
As we come toward the end of today's guided meditation,
To really anchor in this feeling,
Remembering this feeling,
This sense,
This place,
Knowing it's always here.
You can slowly start to bring some movement back into the body,
Some gentle movements,
Perhaps wiggling the fingers and the toes,
Maybe having a stretch or a yawn.
And in your own time,
Whenever you feel ready,
You can slowly and gently open the eyes,
Bringing yourself back to the room,
Bringing with you this sense of self-love,
Which can be projected outward,
Allowing us to fully love others and fully love life.
Thank you for joining me today.
