loving kindness

Loving Kindness Meditation

February 22, 2020 by admin Leave a Comment

One of the first meditations that I ever learned was the Loving Kindness Meditation. That was about twenty years ago and it still remains one of my favorites for so many reasons.

Reasons to Practice The Loving Kindness Meditation

There are many variations of the loving kindness meditation, but they all involve sending kind intentions to both yourself and others. Through meditations such as this one, we can begin to train our mind while focusing on love and kindness for ourselves and others.

It is so important to include both ourselves and others in this meditation. When we have love and compassion for ourselves, we can better offer it to others as well. Conversely, when we show love and compassion to others, we benefit as well because it results in us having more positive feelings. So we are really all connected in this circle of loving kindness! When we give lovingkindness to others, we feel better and when we feel better, we give others more lovingkindness, so it comes full circle. This reminds me of one of my favorite quotes from Rumi, “When we practice loving kindness and compassion we are the first ones to profit.”

A Guided Loving Kindness Meditation

Guided meditation can be a simple way to stay mindful and focused since someone is walking you through the practice. If you are new to mediation, this is also a great way to get started. Here is a video to guide you through the loving kindness meditation:

How to Practice the Loving Kindness Meditation

Begin this meditation by finding any comfortable position. Close your eyes, notice your breath and focus on taking deep, healthy breaths. As you calm your mind and body, take a moment to thank yourself for taking time for this meditation. Allow yourself to begin to feel more and more relaxed.

For the first part of our meditation, you will send loving kindness to yourself. Begin by saying the words, “May I be well. May I be happy. May I be peaceful.” Keep repeating these words, either out loud or in your mind, for the next minute. If your mind starts to wander, just bring your attention back to the words of this meditation.

Next, think of someone that you love. Picture that person clearly in your mind and repeat the words, “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be peaceful.” Continue to picture this person and repeat the words of this meditation for the next minute. If you find you are beginning to repeat these words mindlessly, just re-focus on the person that you love as you repeat these words and take your time to say or think each word.

Now, think of someone you don’t know very well, such as a neighbor or co-worker. Picture this person as you either think or say, “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be peaceful.” Continue to repeat these words for the next minute as you picture this person in your mind.

For the next part of the meditation, think of someone that you don’t like. Picture this person as you again repeat the words of the mediation, “May you be well. May you be happy. May you be peaceful.” For the next minute, continue to repeat these words, either aloud or in your thoughts, while picturing this person. Again, take your time to say or think each word as you picture this person in your mind.

Lastly, think of everyone in the entire world – people you love, strangers, neighbors, people you see every day and people you will never meet. With the whole world in mind, repeat “May we all be well. May we all be happy. May we all be peaceful.” Once again, continue to repeat the words of this meditation slowly and mindfully for one minute.

As you come to the end of your meditation, remain in a comfortable position and continue to take deep, relaxing breaths. Picture yourself surrounded by the energy of all of the loving kindness from this meditation. When you are ready, slowly open your eyes.

When to Practice This Meditation

Meditation can be practiced daily or whenever it works for your schedule. In the guided meditation above, I kept each section to one minute, though you could certainly make it longer if time allows. As I mentioned above, this has been one of my favorite meditations for the past twenty years – it is withstood the test of time for me! No matter how busy or stressed I feel before this practice, I feel better afterwards 100% of the time.

If you are following along with our Monthly Mindfulness Challenge, this mediation is included in the February challenge in the spirit of St. Valentine’s Day; however, it is appropriate for any time of year. If you are interested in the Monthly Mindfulness Challenge (I hope you join in!), you can find more information here: https://mindfulmovementmindfulliving.com/a-monthly-mindfulness-challenge/

As Mother Teresa once said, “Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless.” Likewise, the Loving Kindness Meditation is short and and easy, but its benefits can have a ripple effect for both yourself and others.

Valentine’s Music Playlist

February 12, 2020 by admin 14 Comments

A Valentine’s music playlist is such a fun way to celebrate this week. I love music and am almost always listening to music, whether I am exercising, teaching movement classes, at home, or in the car.

Music for Movement and Mindfulness

Music is not only fun, but an effective tool to help us move more. When I am sluggish, an energizing and uplifting song can convince me to get moving or head out for a walk. If I only have a few minutes for a movement break, I can easily set a time limit of one or two songs before getting back to my task. My children love a dance break, and so do I!

On the other hand, music can help us to wind down when we need to relax and restore. Some calm and peaceful music is a useful tool to help me slow down and clear my mind when I would otherwise burn myself out. When music is part of our environment, we have an easy way to set the tone for our day and switch gears if needed.

Music for Valentine’s Day

Here is a quick chat about my thoughts on music and Valentine’s Day:

Valentine’s Day Playlist

If you are following along in our Monthly Mindfulness Challenge for February, our focus for this month is loving kindness, which is perfect for Valentine’s Day. This playlist is full of songs about love so it can help us focus on our intention in an enjoyable way. You can also send it to a friend for a quick (and fun!) act of kindness.

For more on the February Mindfulness Challenge, here is the video announcement for this month:

February Mindfulness Challenge

My Valentine’s music playlist is so much fun to put together every year. I appreciate variety and acknowledge that everyone has different preferences, so I included music from several decades a genres. If you have some favorite songs, I would love to hear from you, too!

Happy Valentine’s Day – I am wishing you lots of fun and loving kindness this week!

February Mindfulness Challenge

February 3, 2020 by admin 2 Comments

I am so excited to announce the February Mindfulness Challenge! I decided to create the Monthly Mindfulness Challenge so we can all focus on one intention together each month. At the beginning of the month, I will present the focus for the month and post easy, effective and enjoyable ways to stay mindful of that intention all month long.

Here is the link to my announcement regarding the challenge in case you missed it on my YouTube Channel:

Monthly Mindfulness Challenge Announcement

For the February Monthly Mindfulness Challenge, I thought it would be appropriate to focus on loving kindness as the intention of the month. Throughout the month, we will stay focused on this intention through inspirational quotes, meditation, music and acts of kindness.

To get started, check out my video regarding this month’s challenge:

Monthly Mindfulness Challenge February

Quotes on Loving Kindness

To set the tone for February, here are some inspirational quotes on our intention for the month. I love to post these around my home or set reminders on my phone to stay inspired.

“Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see.” – Mark Twain
“My wish for you is that you continue. Continue to be who you are, to astonish a mean world with your acts of kindness. Continue to allow humor to lighten the burden of your tender heart.” – Maya Angelou
“Carry out a random act of kindness, with no expectation of reward, safe in the knowledge that one day someone might do the same for you.” – Princess Diana
“He who sows courtesy reaps friendship and he who plants kindness gathers love.” – St. Basil

Meditation

One of the first meditations that I ever learned (about 20 years ago!) was the loving kindness meditation. There are many variations on this meditation, but they all involve sending kind intentions to both yourself and others. I will be posting this meditation and a stand alone video this month to make it easy to practice.

Music

Music is such an easy and enjoyable way to set the tone for our environment. Because of this, it can be an effective tool to keep us mindful of our intention. I will post some songs and playlists throughout the month to keep us focused on loving kindness. I would also love to hear some of your song suggestions, so please comment with your recommendations!

Acts of Kindness

One of the many benefits of mindfulness is that it helps us to take pause and control how we act. For this month’s challenge, let’s include a weekly act of kindness. It does not have to be an elaborate or grand gesture – it can be something as simple as smiling at someone, lending a listening ear to someone who needs to talk, or sending an encouraging text message.

I am really looking forward to focusing on this intention during the February Mindfulness Challenge. I wish you lots of loving kindness as we begin this month long journey!