Hi and welcome to this meditation dedicated to self-care.
First of all find a comfortable position.
You can either sit on the floor,
Maybe with your legs crossed,
Or if you prefer to sit on a chair or on the sofa,
That's totally fine.
Just make sure your feet are firmly pressing onto the floor.
You can even remove your shoes or socks to feel the contact of your feet with the ground.
And then if you're sitting on a chair or on the sofa,
Just one thing,
Make sure that your back is straight.
So you're not just laying down or your back rounding,
But your spine is long.
So once you find your position,
Let's start by taking a few deep inhales and exhales,
Maybe exhale through the mouth a few times.
Close your eyes and start to make your way into your meditation practice.
Not just physically but mentally.
Start to prepare to leave all your worries,
Questions,
Just waiting for the next few minutes.
This time it's for you.
Just know that throughout the meditation you can always readjust the way you're sitting if it's not comfortable.
Just do it quietly.
Few more cycles of breath.
Starting to lengthen the exhale.
You start to feel your shoulders drop.
Now if I tell you the word self-care,
What do you think about?
Which activities do you consider as self-care?
How often do you do something nice for yourself,
Something that you consider being self-care?
Take a few moments to think about these questions and see if there is any answer that comes up.
Self-care is not just something that we do occasionally to pamper ourselves,
Like a massage every once in a while,
Which is nice,
But the real meaning of self-care is not just about the occasional treat we give ourselves.
Self-care is speaker than that.
I've once heard an interesting metaphor used by Justin Williams to explain what self-care really is.
And so just for a moment,
Imagine a table where each leg is one of the four pillars of well-being.
We have stress,
So the amount of stress in our daily life,
The quality of your sleep,
The quality of your food,
And the physical activity.
And so these four pillars are the four legs of a table.
And the tabletop is your well-being.
So you can imagine that if one of the four pillars is out of balance,
You're not going to be able to properly sit at your table or eat off of it,
Because it's like if you chop half or even a small piece of one leg,
The table becomes uneven.
And this is also what happens to our lives.
If we are out of balance,
We're more likely to miss opportunities.
Our capacity for compassion is limited.
And if we're exhausted and stressed,
Our brains are not able to function at our maximum capacity.
And this is why self-care is the very foundation of our life and not just a thing we do occasionally.
So now I invite you to think about your table at this particular moment of your life.
Is there maybe one leg that is shorter than the other ones?
Which area of your life you need to prioritize at the moment?
Your pillars are stress,
The quality of your sleep,
The quality of your food,
And your physical activity.
Take a deep breath in and just exhale through the mouth.
Just take a few moments now to think about your table and see if there is one of the legs,
One of the pillars that needs some extra attention from you.
Now I invite you to set an intention for next week.
Once you have found the pillar that needs a little bit of extra love,
Or maybe there are several pillars.
And so I invite you to set an intention for next week to dedicate some time,
Some extra attention,
Some extra love and care to at least one of these pillars.
Maybe the one that needs the most attention at the moment.
And I invite you to set an intention to dedicate each day,
Some time,
Or even just make a conscious decision each day that will help you improve the situation and the level of well-being with your pillars.
So maybe you bring one hand to the top of your heart.
You inhale,
You feel your chest expanding.
Exhaling slowly.
And you set your intention in your heart with yourself.
And now let go of your arm and we will be repeating a mantra.
A mantra is simply translated as an instrument of the mind.
And it's simply a phrase or a word that we repeat over time to give our mind an anchor,
Something to bring the attention to.
And so I will give you this mantra for today is going to be a phrase.
And I invite you to repeat it over and over in your head.
You can repeat it quietly,
You can repeat it maybe softly in your head or out loud if you want to try.
And you can go as fast or as slowly as you want.
Just remember that if at any point you lose track,
Don't worry,
Don't judge the experience.
Just simply bring your attention back to your breath and to the mantra.
So the mantra for today is I am best when I am balanced.
I am best when I am balanced.
So now you can start repeating.
And I'll be here to watch the time.
And I'll guide you out of the mantra when it's going to be time.
I'll start by taking a deep inhale through the nose,
Exhale through the mouth.
And I'll start repeating.
I am best when I am balanced.
I am best when I am balanced.
I am best when I am balanced.
I am best when I am balanced.
And now gently let go of your mantra.
Just notice the quality of your mind.
It's like a few deep inhales and exhales.
Be noticing how you feel now compared to when you started the practice.
Slowly start to deepen your breath.
Start to bring some movement back into the body.
Bring your fingers,
Your toes.
Keeping your eyes closed for a little longer.
And now let's bring one hand or both hands on top of your heart,
On your chest.
Feeling the heartbeat.
One more deep inhale.
Exhale through the mouth.
And when you're ready,
Start to slowly open your eyes and come back into the room.
