00:00:05:01 - 00:00:27:11

Dr. Christiane Wolf

Hello. So this is a short guided meditation on self-kindness, which you can do anytime you need a little bit of support. So I’m inviting you to find a posture that is as comfortable as possible right now.

00:00:29:11 - 00:00:43:01

Dr. Christiane Wolf

And if you like, you can close your eyes or just lower your gaze.

00:00:45:15 - 00:01:19:21

Dr. Christiane Wolf

And most of us have had the experience, then, that when things are rough, that it’s really helpful to have a friend that just sees our struggle and gives us a hug, or maybe says something like “that’s really hard right now” or “I see you’re having a rough day,” and so in this practice, we want to offer this kindness, this friendliness, to ourselves.

00:01:24:00 - 00:02:02:13

Dr. Christiane Wolf

So you can experiment, if you like, actually placing a hand on your chest, just like a friend would place a hand on your shoulder or hold your hand. You can also hold your own hand, and just letting yourself feel that if your body can receive that in this moment.

00:02:05:15 - 00:03:11:19

Dr. Christiane Wolf

And if it is helpful, connecting to the sensations of the breath, maybe taking a few longer and deeper breaths, and then saying to yourself, like, a phrase that is helpful, something like “this is really hard right now” or “this hurts,” and offering that to yourself, just simple acknowledgement with kindness.

00:03:13:22 - 00:04:15:20

Dr. Christiane Wolf

“This is a rough moment,” and then something like “this is what it feels like to struggle with this” or “this is what it feels like to have this kind of pain,” and maybe in your mind’s eye, inviting all the other people who know this feeling too, who struggle with the same condition, who felt this kind of struggle, this kind of pain, or who are feeling it actually in this moment.

00:04:20:17 - 00:05:24:18

Dr. Christiane Wolf

And sometimes, it can be helpful to imagine yourself and your circle with them or just being at your back, having your back, so you can sense that you’re not alone.

And then again, finding your own words to express something like “may I be kind to myself,” “may I be gentle with myself,” “may I not abandon myself.”

00:05:30:16 - 00:05:49:08

Dr. Christiane Wolf

And then when you’re ready, you can bring this practice to an end, and I’ll be ringing my chimes.

00:05:54:10 - 00:05:56:21

Dr. Christiane Wolf

Thank you.