Be Kind To Yourself Page

This activity works best when sitting. Press pause, and take a moment to get comfortable in your seat. When you're ready to begin, press play. (music) You probably find it pretty easy to be nice to people that you like very much, but how nice are you to yourself? Sit up tall in your chair, put both feet on the ground, and rest your hands on your lap. Close your eyes and imagine that you're sitting all by yourself in this room. Notice what it feels like to sit with yourself. Now, imagine someone that you care about very much, someone who is very easy to like. Imagine that person walking into the room and sitting down right in front of you. What does it feel like to sit with this person? Let's send them some caring wishes. Say after me, may you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be safe. May your life be filled with joy. How did you feel when you gave caring wishes to this person that you love? Happy, proud, sad? Any other feelings? Was it easy or hard to send the caring wishes to this person? Bring your hands onto the tops of your legs. Inhale, and roll your shoulders back, lifting your heart, and looking up. Then, rounding your back, looking towards your belly button. Inhale, open up. and as you exhale, round back down. Come back to a comfortable seat with both feet on the floor and your hands in your lap. Close your eyes, and imagine yourself sitting in this room by yourself, but with a mirror in front of you. Look into the mirror and notice what it feels like to sit here with yourself. Now, send some caring feelings to yourself by saying after me, may I be happy. May I be healthy. May I be safe. May my life be filled with joy. What does it feel like to send these caring wishes to yourself? Good, bad, challenging, a little bit weird, huh? Take a breath in and bring your fingertips towards your heart. As you breathe out, we're gonna peel the elbows back towards each other, then exhale, wrapping one arm over the other, dropping your chin down, and rounding your spine. Breathing in, pulling the elbows back towards each other again. As you exhale, taking the opposite arm on top, rounding down, giving yourself a hug. Breathing in, reaching back. Exhaling, rounding your spine, and coming back up. Close your eyes and imagine looking into the mirror again. Say to yourself, "may I be happy." "May I be healthy." "May I be safe." "May my life be filled with joy." Bring one hand to your belly, and one hand to your heart. Notice how you are feeling. Be a good friend to yourself, even when you've messed up or you're having a hard time. That's when you need your own kindness the most. Open your eyes and move forward in your day, giving yourself lovingkindness.