Meditation - The Journey to Self Compassion

“When internal energies are able to circulate smoothly and freely, and the energy of the mind is not scattered, but is focused and concentrated, illness and disease can be avoided.” - The Yellow Emperor’s Classic of Medicine.

Cultivating mindfulness is an important aspect of developing inner peace and wellbeing. Through mindfulness practice one can connect to a deeper understanding of the inner self to develop a sense of compassion and love for our self and others. A core principle of mindfulness is to approach ‘wholeness’ and wellbeing in one’s personal life in a way that creates a foundation for the healing and self nurturing process to develop. From a Chinese Medicine prospective, maintaining a gentle unimpeded movement of Qi in a free and easy environment is imperative to avoiding stagnation (or constrained) Qi and blood stasis. Cultivating healing attitudes through daily mindfulness can be beneficial to healing process.

Meditation is simple and attainable. Qigong is a great alternative, however as a it requires more time, training and resources in comparison to meditation which can be practice anywhere at anytime and doesn’t require much skill. Using methods such as the sitting method set out by Jon Kabat Zinn (1994) can be performed daily for 5 to 20 minutes and involves sitting down comfortably on a chair with eyes closed. Using the breath as an anchor to bring awareness to the present moment. Posture erect but not stiff. Thinking of oneself as a mountain.

This is a really useful technique in calming the mind, centering your thoughts and setting your intention for the day. Subsequently, it had a positive effect on managing nerves and anxiety.

This simple daily ritual can help to centre your mind, bring a deeper sense of self acceptance and quiet the negative inner critic (Earley and Weiss, 2010). By committing to this daily ritual you will be able to observe with equanimity experiences of the day and then surrender any thoughts. After a few months, you will genuinely feel a greater level calm and contentment. Sleep will greatly improved also. Through the process of meditation you will be able to reach a much deeper level of compassion and self acceptance that transforms one’s perception of self, creating a space within for more self love.

So get ready for a journey that will be a very rewarding one. This time gives you the permission to honour yourself. It is the opportunity to discover how you truly feel and think in all aspects of your life. Use this time to set your intention for your personal health, well-being, and ultimately self love.

By Cassandra