Practice loving-kindness by sending compassionate phrases to every part of your body from head to toe.

English

This is a variation of a lovingkindness meditation originally taught in the Buddhist tradition as a means of cultivating openness and acceptance toward all beings. In this practice, we will call to mind a loved one who is easy for us to feel kindness toward. We will then scan through the body and offer each part of ourselves the wish for safety, happiness, health, strength, and ease. If at any time this practice activates a lack of safety, please stop this recording and reground yourself with your surroundings.

Loving Kindness For The Body

 This is a guided meditation on loving-kindness for the body. Begin by finding a comfortable position, either seated or laying down, in whatever posture allows you to feel both supported and at ease. We'll begin by taking a few slow deep breaths, allowing the body to settle in even more. Breathing in through the nose, holding at the top of the breath, and releasing through the mouth. Continuing to take deep breaths at your own pace, breathing in through the nose, and releasing any tension or holding in the body as you exhale. Good. We'll begin the loving-kindness meditation by bringing our attention to sensations in the body at our heart space. You may choose to rest a hand over your heart or leave your arms resting at your side, feeling the space in and around the heart. We are first going to call to mind someone or some creature who is easy to love. This should be an uncomplicated relationship with a person or an animal, someone who is alive and well, someone that when you call them to mind, they might bring a small smile to your face. And whenever you have this person in your mind's eye, we will repeat four phrases with the intention of cultivating a quality of kindness, of friendliness toward this person or being. Repeating to yourself, in your own words, may you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. Now taking a moment to feel into the sensations in and around your heart, noticing if there's been any shift as you send this message of loving-kindness, seeing if you can hold on to this quality in your heart. As we now begin to slowly move through the body, starting at the top of the head and working our way down to the tips of the toes, extending this embodiment of love to all the parts of the body. So now starting with the top of the head, may you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. Feeling down into the face, the muscles in and around the eyes, the cheeks and the mouth, the muscle of the tongue, the jaw, all the way down to the back of the neck, the throat. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. Bringing the awareness further down into the shoulders, the tops of the arms, the biceps, further down into the elbows and the forearms, out into the palms of the hand and all the way out to the tips of the fingers. Holding the whole arm in awareness. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. Now sweeping the awareness back up the arms, moving across the back body, through the shoulder blades, down the spine, wrapping around the ribcage to the front of the chest, holding the whole upper torso in awareness. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. Feeling further down into the low back, down into the hips, wrapping around again to the front abdomen, feeling the gentle rise and fall of the belly, bringing a gentle awareness here. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. Feeling further down into the pelvis and the tops of the legs, the backs of the legs, staying here for a moment. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. With ease, sweeping the awareness further down into the knees, the lower legs, feeling through the shin and the calf muscle, all the way down to the ankle, across the tops of the feet, wrapping around to the bottom of the feet, from the heel all the way out through the tips of the toes, holding now the whole lower leg in awareness and extending the loving kindness phrases. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. See now if it's possible to sweep the awareness from the inside of the body, starting at the tips of the toes all the way back up through to the top of the head, holding in mind the whole body in awareness and extend once more these phrases of loving kindness. May you be safe, may you be happy, may you be healthy and strong, may you live with ease. If the eyes are closed, you can gently let them open, starting to stretch, bring gentle movement back into the body, and maybe pause for a moment before you carry on with the rest of your day to notice this loving kindness for the body and see if it's possible to carry this with you.