I invite you to find a comfortable place to sit with your feet firmly on the floor and where you feel safe to open the heart and the mind.
If you're in a chair,
Make your way to the back of the chair.
Ground both your feet flat on the floor rooting into the earth beneath.
I encourage you to align the spine head over heart and heart over pelvis,
Reaching the crown of the head up toward the sky.
Gently pull your shoulder blades back and down the back body radiating the heart space forward.
These small shifts will help create a physical openness for your heart and for your mind.
An openness consistent with the positive emotions you aim to cultivate today.
Gently lower your gaze to reduce any distractions and if you're comfortable doing so,
Close your eyes.
In this meditation you'll hear my voice followed by periods of silence and in that silence I invite you to continue to say the phrases of loving kindness,
Silence,
And peace.
Take a few deep breaths and bring your awareness to your heart space.
Visualize how each inhale affects your heart physically.
Breathing normally,
Continuing with soft awareness on your heart.
Consider how each inhale nourishes the heart space and the mind and the body.
This life force moves through your lungs and then into your beating heart and the bloodstream.
It serves as the most basic and constant connection between you and your body.
This simple act of breathing knits together all that is within you with all that lies beyond.
And each new breath creates a unity of life.
I invite you to check in now with how your body is feeling.
Check in with the aches and pains any worries or tension any excitement or anticipation.
Whatever the feeling pleasant or not allow it in.
Accept it as part of what it means to be you in this moment.
Meet the feeling with curiosity.
Note how it moves in your body and how those sensations change subtly from one moment to the next.
Whether your current experience is pleasant or unpleasant witness and accept it as it is.
Whether circumstances are good or bad,
Witness and accept them as part of the ebb and flow that all people experience.
Just as surely as all people feel,
As you feel,
As you feel,
As you feel,
As you feel,
As you feel,
As you feel,
As you feel,
As all people face good and bad fortune.
All people yearn to feel good,
Safe,
Peaceful and healthy.
Along with your awareness of suffering and the similarities of all people and their experiences,
You can choose to wish yourself well.
You deserve this kindness as much as anyone.
I invite you to offer love and kindness to yourself and repeating these words after me.
May I feel safe and protected.
May I feel happy and peaceful.
May I feel healthy and strong.
May I live with ease.
I invite you to see yourself as a dear friend when offering yourself these phrases.
And imagine the warmth and tenderness you might feel toward a young child.
Experience how your face and body soften and your heart expands in their presence.
Now imagine directing these same feelings of warmth and tenderness to yourself.
Repeating after me,
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I live with ease.
Between each phrase,
Drop your awareness down into your body and into your heart space.
This practice is more than the repetition of phrases.
The phrases simply open a door to a chance for you to condition your heart,
To be more open,
Accepting and kinder.
Again,
Repeating after me,
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I live with ease.
At times you'll find that your attention has strayed from these phrases and this may happen a lot.
Don't worry because this is normal.
Simply begin again by gently bringing your awareness back to the phrases and repeating again after me.
May I feel safe.
May I feel happy.
May I feel healthy.
May I live with ease.
As this practice comes to a close,
Know that it is natural for you to treat yourself kindly,
Even if you may forget to do so often.
Know that you can cultivate this tender and loving attitude towards yourself anytime.
All you need to do is remind yourself to drop in to the body and heart awareness.
Before returning to your day,
I invite you to take the deepest breath you've taken all day with an increased sense of awareness and kindness.
And as you exhale,
Remember that you are worthy,
You are enough,
And you are wholly beautiful.
