This meditation practice is called Loving-Kindness meditation, also known as Metta. And this is a beautiful Buddhist mindfulness practice which I was introduced to at a yoga class last year and instantly resonated with. And so this week, I felt called to share it with you.

And as you’ll see in this meditation, this practice involves extending love and compassion first towards ourselves, then to someone in particular, and then to all.

And what I love about this practice is that it starts with you. There is recognition and understanding that before we can extend love, compassion, kindness and be of service to others, we first need to do the same for ourselves. We come first.

And in many ways this is opposite to what so many of us are conditioned to believe. For women, and mothers especially, there is such strong conditioning and societal expectations to be self-sacrificing, to look after others at the expense of ourselves, to put others first, to do what will please and what will make others happy.

But I can’t help but see this contradiction here because on one hand this is what society expects from us. But then on the other hand, we hear surface level sentiments and platitudes about putting on your own oxygen mask before others or the importance of filling your cup first. And these platitudes can almost be like water off a duck’s back and have very little impact when trying to go against the grain of deep societal and subconscious conditioning, across many generations, that says otherwise.

And of course while there is a much bigger societal conversation to be had here, I also see that this is where it starts at a grass roots individual level…..with practices like this meditation where you embody and remind yourself that it is not only okay to be loving and kind to yourself, but it is necessary. And it comes first.

And this is ultimately at the crux of the work I do when supporting women with hypnotherapy and Human Design….. it is a reclamation of self. An exploration of who you are beneath the conditioning, labels and layers and a reconnection to what you truly desire. A journey of cultivating the self-worth to put yourself first and build a life that is authentic to the core essence of who you are.

So I hope you enjoy this practice and as always if you’d like to share your thoughts or experience, I’d love to hear from you.

And if there is someone who you think would enjoy this meditation, you are welcome to share it with them.

With love,

Alice x

Hypnotherapist | Human Design Guide | Midwife

www.alignwithalice.com | @align.with.alice | [email protected]

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