Loving Kindness Practice

It’s important to care for ourselves, for others and for our world. As we celebrate the month of love, daily loving kindness practice can increase our capacity for empathy and compassion.

Try these simple steps to include loving kindness into your daily routine:

• Sit up nice and straight, at the edge of a chair with feet flat on the floor or cross legged on the floor. Relax your shoulders down away from your ears as you lengthen the top of your head to the ceiling. Rest your hands in your lap.
  

• Close your eyes. If it is not comfortable to close your eyes, you can close them halfway, look down and soften your gaze.
  

• Breathe in and out slowly through your nose with your mouth closed. Feel the air travel through your nose, down the back of your throat, and then into your lungs. Belly gets big as your lungs fill contracts gently as your lungs empty.
  

• Continue belly breathing as we practice loving kindness.
  

• Bring into your mind someone that you love very much. Picture them as clearly as you can. Imagine you are sending loving kindness to that person and notice how that makes your heart feel.
  

• Send some wishes to that person… Think "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be filled with joy."
  

• Bring into your mind your family. Picture them as clearly as you can. Now send loving kindness to the people in your family... "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be filled with joy."
  

• Bring into your mind your friends. Picture them as clearly as you can. Now send loving kindness to your friends… "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be filled with joy."
  

• Bring into your mind the people all over the world. Picture them as clearly as you can. Now send loving kindness to people all over the world..."May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be filled with joy."
  

• Now picture yourself as clearly as you can. Send loving kindness to yourself... "May you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be peaceful, may you be filled with joy."
  

• Take one more full belly inhale… and slow exhale. Allow your breathing to become normal and automatic as you bow your head forward, bringing your chin toward your chest. Notice how your body feels, notice how your breathing feels. Slowly blink your eyes open and then raise your head up.
  

• Take a big inhale in. Sigh out a long exhale.

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