Taking a few minutes to stop, soothe and self-care, with mindfulness and self-compassion. 

Self-Care Break

This meditation is a self-inquiry practice, designed to increase self-awareness. See yourself clearly and deepen awareness of your patterns, habits and beliefs, so you can begin to accept yourself just as you are. From a place of deep self-acceptance and self-compassion, we can create real change in our lives. 

See Yourself Clearly

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds and image courtesy of listeningearth.com.

Water Over Pebbles: an Attention Restoration Meditation

This meditation is an exercise in self-compassion. By gently breathing into any difficult emotion we are feeling, we allow that emotion to feel total acceptance. After that, it usually feels safe enough to release on its own.

Compassion & Emotional Release

Compassion is the balm that helps us to heal. You can cultivate it for yourself with practices like these from Mindful Self Compassion


Self Compassion Break

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation break at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Image by Aviceda (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Jacky Winter: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Image by Mdekool (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Mixed Flock of Thornbills: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Transform feelings of anger and anxiety with this practice incorporating mindful self compassion and qigong. 

When Angry & Anxious

Connect with your breath to bring compassion to yourself. This is a powerful practice that can be used often throughout the day.


Compassionate Breath

In this meditation in the style of Kristen Neff, cultivate greater understanding and ease by exploring the power of self-compassion to hold suffering with healing awareness.


Self Compassion Check-In

Song of the Waterfall: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Image by Ralf Lotys (Sicherlich) - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=369466. 

Edge of Alder Swamp: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Distant Waters with Robin and Wren: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Image by Aviceda (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

White-Throated Gerygone and Friends: an Attention Restoration Meditation

In this practice we balance well wishing for ourselves with well wishing for others. We all need care and love!


Compassion for Self and Others

Morning Forest: an Attention Restoration Meditation

On our path to inner peace, we start with where we are. We can't go directly from experiencing agitation to feeling joy. We first need to build a bridge to feeling better, and self-compassion is the best foundation for that bridge. When we attend to difficult emotions with tenderness, we can restore our natural zest for life, which often gets lost when our minds are clouded with worry or anxiety 

Compassion as the Bridge

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Photo by Bryan Rodriguez on Unsplash.

Morning in the Primeval Forest: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Offering yourself your own presence and approaching self with compassion. We're often hard on ourselves so let go and be good to yourself.

Releasing Worries Through Compassion

This is a Loving Kindness practice for parents - to help you give love and compassion to yourself and to your dear ones. This is the antidote to habitual negative thoughts and built-up anger. 


Loving Kindness Practice for Parents

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Image by JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

White-Browed Babbler in the Morning: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Self-compassion is a skill that can be developed with practices such as this.

Compassionate Breathing

When we're not feeling good, a common response is to beat ourselves up for not feeling good....and then we feel worse! why not try being kind and compassionate with yourself instead with this short self-compassion break?


Self-Compassion Break

In moments of difficulty this brief practice can really make a difference: We acknowledge the difficulty, we recognise how this connects us to others, and we turn towards our experience with kindness. As a result we no longer feel alone and isolated, and can begin to turn towards our experience with kindness and acceptance.

 Equanimity is the quality of awareness that fosters wisdom and creates inner balance. It teaches you to have a deep understanding of the nature of change and allows you to be with lifes change with insight and compassion. Equanimity arises from intentional observation and the ability to be aware of without being caught by what we see. When well-developed this gives rise to a great sense of peace. This practice may be profoundly helpful during this time of uncertainty.

Equanimity Meditation ~ for Dealing with Uncertainity

Letting go of the idea that meditation is "work" and allowing yourself to be soothed and comforted by the rhythmic flowing in and out of the breath. 

Inspired by the Mindful Self-Compassion Program. 


Affectionate Breathing

Developing an attitude of friendliness towards ourselves can help us deal more effectively and realistically with the challenges of daily life.  And, if we are able to cultivate this attitude towards our self, we're much more likely to offer the same attitude to others, and in so doing improve our relationships. This practice is a great way to start the day.

Befriending and Self-Compassion

An invitation to get in touch with your inner self, sensations and feelings - non-judgmentally and with compassion.

Embracing Emotions

There are external resources and there internal resources that can help us navigate life on this earth. With the trust and curiosity that mindfulness brings we can access our innate resources for wisdom, compassion and healing. Through the power of the present breathing body and the energy flowing within our deepest sense of self we can connect to our inner power. 

Connect to Your Inner Power

With compassion and love, embracing your suffering, discomfort or tension and opening yourself up to your connection to the world around you. 

Loving-Kindness for You

When we feel under pressure or overwhelmed we tend to use our habitual coping strategies – (ie eating crisps or sugary snacks, coffee, alcohol, shouting, shutting down...). These often lead to more stressful situations. The Three Steps Breathing Space is a very short practice, from MBCT. It helps to cope with difficulty in a short and efficient way. Instead of pushing away the unpleasant, we learn to hold our experiences with openness and self-compassion. 

Breathing Space Coping with Difficulty

Enjoy an Attention Restoration Meditation at least every 90 minutes at work. Give your mind a self-compassion break so that you can resume work with renewed focus. Put aside the time needed to be fully with this meditation and use earphones so that you can block out noise in your environment. After enjoying the meditation, give yourself a few moments to sit and simply “be.” Nature sounds courtesy of listeningearth.com. Image by JJ Harrison (jjharrison89@facebook.com) - Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=15717619

Rainbow Bee-Eater and Friends: an Attention Restoration Meditation

The Source: an Attention Restoration Meditation

Compassion begins with ourselves before we can extend it out to the world. Take a few moments now to welcome compassion into your life. Healing takes place when we allow our hearts to soften and open to ourselves.



Welcoming in Compassion

Inspiration is what you feel through your senses; through taking in the beauty of life that you are willing to notice; and by allowing your heart open in delight, in wonder, in the deliberate choosing of your soul to be stirred; to cultivate presence, and to flow with the deliberate joy that you are witness to.

In this meditation on inspiration; the sixth and final of this Meditation Series, we delve into one of the most pleasant human experiences.  Together with the previous week's episodes of hope, forgiveness, compassion, self-love, and peace,    inspiration illuminates the path for living from you heart; from living fluid; mind and heart aligned toward the sacred action that will manifest into form; birthing inspired thought paradigms into what creative pursuits become the beauty and inspirations of your life.

Please enjoy this talk and meditation and have a look for the others in this very special series.  Namaste!

The Miracle of Inspiration + Guided Meditation

This gentle practice will invite you to bring more self-compassion into your day, particularly when you are experiencing a difficult emotion.

Gentle Release

Do you sometimes feel like your mind is spinning out of control? Are you constantly rehashing a negative experience from your past? Or rehearsing what you want to say to someone who has upset you? In moments like these, our thought patterns are actually contributing to our suffering – not alleviating it. And the best way to shift those patterns is to move into deep, wholehearted compassion for yourself. A mind entangled with difficult thoughts is so worthy of your own compassion and love.

Self-Compassion

Learn to take a self-compassion break throughout your day-you deserve it! 

Our breath is always with us, ever present, our constant companion. This meditation practice helps us to use our breath to soothe and comfort us, and to help us to develop self-compassion. 

When we make a mistake, we often beat ourselves up or berate ourselves. Yet we know this is not an effective thing to do, as it often leaves us feeling worse and more stuck. This meditation helps you to cultivate compassion towards yourself and ease difficult emotions that come up with self-criticism. 

Beating Yourself Up?

This practice is about feeling and letting in compassion and love while embracing your suffering or discomfort. 

Acceptance

Do you sometimes feel that you are the only one having a difficult day, or struggling with a challenging emotion? In this meditation, you will bring your awareness to the throngs of people around you who are just like you – doing their best to handle what is coming up for them emotionally as they navigate their day. As you breathe in connection with them, and breathe out compassion, you will feel more solidarity with others around you – and more compassion for yourself as well.

Breathe in Connection

In difficult times, compassion is the ultimate soothing balm - learning to hold yourself in your heart with love, and be your own best friend.


Compassion

An efficient meditation to ease anxiety and show up for yourself in a difficult moment. 

Inspired by the Mindful Self-Compassion Program. 


This practice is also called Breathing in and Out Compassion - imagining breathing in compassion for myself and out for you, or any other person or people. It can feel like a nice balance caring for yourself and looking after others as well.


One for Me, One for You

We forget that everything is connected and interdependent on each others. That is why the true meaning of compassion is understanding and empathizing with other's pain. 

Healing the Inner Child

This is a lovely practice of spreading the love, some for you and some for another person you care about or who needs some special love right now.


Breathing in Compassion for Yourself and Out for Another Person

The ‘Three Steps Breathing Space coping with difficulty’ (from MBCT - Prof Mark Williams UK), helps to cope with difficult feelings in an efficient way, using the mindful approach. With this practice we learn to hold our experience with kindness, self-compassion and non-judgment. We use the breath as an anchor and to find a steady place. The mindful approach helps to dissolve the intensity of the feelings and body sensations, it creates mind space to see more clearly and therefore choose a wiser response to deal with the situation. 

Breathing Space Coping with Difficulty 10mins

The ‘Three Steps Breathing Space coping with difficulty’ (from MBCT - Mark Williams UK), helps to cope with difficult feelings in an efficient way, using the mindful approach. With this practice we learn to hold our experience with kindness, self-compassion and non-judgment. We use the breath as an anchor and to find a steady place. The mindful approach helps to dissolve the intensity of the feelings and body sensations, it creates mind space to see more clearly and therefore choose a wiser response to deal with the situation. 

Compassion: Meditations