Hi,
Welcome to our loving kindness practice.
Loving kindness can be a little tricky at first,
So be gentle with yourself and just remember curiosity.
So bringing curiosity to the practice,
If you notice that it's not feeling authentic or it's difficult or you have just a lot of thoughts running through your mind,
Bring your awareness to that so you can always drop the words that I'm saying and bring awareness to whatever's showing up.
But loving kindness,
This practice can shift our mood and help transition us from a busy and restless mental state to a more embodied and present state.
Can often help us fall asleep or just make that transition from a busy workday to resting with our family at home.
So for this practice,
Again,
We'll want to find our comfortable seated position,
Bringing our feet to rest flat upon the floor,
Kind of adjusting in your chair so that you're comfortable but you have a posture of alertness at the same time.
Again,
Placing the palms of your hands to rest on your legs.
Maybe rolling your shoulders back and down a few times,
Just inviting the muscles that get tense around the neck and shoulders to relax and let go.
Bringing awareness to your back,
Noticing if you're hunched over,
Bent over and just allowing your spine to lengthen,
To stretch,
Allowing your eyes to close if that's comfortable for you.
And if you prefer your eyes open,
You can just rest your gaze upon something in front of you,
Keeping your gaze steady and soft.
So with your eyes closed or your gaze softly resting,
Just take a few long,
Easy deep breaths in and out through your nose.
See if you can lengthen your exhale,
Slowing it down just a little bit.
And then making that transition to an effortless,
Easy breath.
So just allowing yourself to be breathed as you let go of any control over your breathing.
And we'll just take a moment to acknowledge our mental state.
So noticing if your mind feels busy or quiet.
Noticing if you just came from something that was mentally taxing or if you've had a pretty relaxing day,
Just feeling the effects of your day so far on your current mental and physical state.
You might notice that you're thinking about something that's happening later,
That's something you have to do,
Just acknowledging those thoughts,
Realizing they're part of our what make us productive.
And there's nothing wrong with those thoughts.
Once we've acknowledged thoughts about the day so far or the day ahead,
Just gently bringing your awareness back into your breath.
Wherever it feels easiest to make contact with your breath today,
The belly,
The chest or the nose.
Notice any sensations in your body as you're breathing.
You might notice sensations in the torso,
Around the belly,
The heart.
Maybe you're hungry or thirsty or maybe you just feel okay.
Breathing to the body.
And noticing sensations around the head and the face.
You might notice some areas that are holding tightness or tension.
If you come upon those areas,
Just invite them to let go as an invitation,
Not forcing or striving.
You can even imagine breathing in a word like ease or softness into that area that feels tight.
Notice what shifts as you simply bring awareness to these areas.
Our awareness itself is kind,
Kind attention.
Anytime in this practice,
You can always come back to your breath.
It's a place of refuge.
But for now,
We'll just bring to mind someone you find easy to love or like without thinking about the right person,
Just whoever comes to mind first,
Allowing that to be the person you work with in this practice.
So someone who brings a smile to your face,
Who you have an uncomplicated relationship with.
It can be an animal,
A pet or a person.
And notice how you feel as you bring this person to mind.
Maybe you imagine them smiling or being excited to see you.
Maybe there's some ease in the body as you think of this person.
We can imagine what this person looks like or what they're doing when they're happy,
When they're joyful.
And imagining what they're like when they are full of ease,
When they're peaceful,
When they're resting.
And imagining them when they're safe,
When they feel safe and connected to others,
When they feel valued.
So now I'm going to say some loving kindness phrases.
And as I say them out loud,
Just repeat them silently,
Imagining that you're sending these phrases,
Sending this kindness to this person.
You can imagine this person is next to you or in front of you as you send them these wishes,
Holding them in your mind's eye.
May you be happy.
May you feel peaceful and at ease.
May you feel safe.
May you feel valued and connected.
Taking a moment to notice how you feel as you send these loving kindness phrases,
Whether it's positive,
Negative,
Or neutral.
And then bringing our concentration back to this person in our mind,
We'll do it once more.
May you be happy.
May you feel peaceful and at ease.
May you be safe.
May you feel connected and valued.
Just continue on your own once more using the phrases I suggested or maybe adding phrases of your own as you keep this person in your mind and your heart.
And then we'll just imagine that this person is wishing the same for us.
Wishing,
Knowing that they would want the same for us,
For us to be happy and safe,
Peaceful.
So this time we'll receive their kindness,
Imagining that they're sending it to you and you're receiving.
May you be happy.
May you feel peaceful and at ease.
May you be safe.
May you feel valued and connected.
Taking a breath in as you receive through your heart.
Seeing what it's like to trust and know that you're cared about,
Loved,
Valued.
Just allowing that to be savored in your whole body.
I'm valued.
I'm safe.
I'm loved.
And this person wishes this for me.
Bringing awareness to your body as you notice any shifts since we started this meditation.
Maybe a shift in sensations around your heart,
Your abdomen,
Your face.
And if there haven't been any shifts,
That's okay too.
Just being curious about what you notice.
Feeling your feet upon the floor and your hands upon your legs.
Just coming back to the environment around you.
And as you feel ready,
Just slowly allowing your eyes to open,
Adjusting back to your space.
And seeing if you can carry some of that loving kindness back into your day.
Maybe sending loving kindness silently to the next person you see.
So thank you for your practice today.
