Rooted in Compassion: A Loving-Kindness Meditation
Compassion isn’t just something we extend outward—it’s something we must also learn to offer ourselves. And yet, for so many of us, myself included, self-compassion can feel like the hardest thing to give. We’ve been told to shrink, to harden, to put others first even at our own expense. But compassion isn’t about sacrifice—it’s about connection. And true connection requires softness, openness, and the willingness to take up space.
This week in my classes, we are exploring what it means to be Rooted in Compassion—for ourselves, for each other, and for all beings.
Compassion in Movement
In our practice, we’ll root ourselves deeply into the earth while opening our hearts toward the sky. Our peak pose, Baddha Konasana (Butterfly Pose) forward fold, invites us to sit with ourselves just as we are—without force or resistance. Folding forward is an act of trust and vulnerability. To surrender to the posture is to surrender to compassion, allowing the breath, the body, and the mind to soften into love.
At the end of class, we’ll settle into Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclining Butterfly Pose), resting with our hearts wide open. From this place of openness, we’ll be guided through a Loving-Kindness Meditation (Metta Meditation), a powerful practice of sending love and goodwill to ourselves and the world around us.
A Loving-Kindness Meditation for You
Even if you can’t attend class this week, I invite you to explore this meditation on your own. It’s a simple yet profound way to cultivate compassion—first for yourself, then extending it outward to others.
Setting Up for Your Practice
Find a space where you feel safe, supported, and at ease. You may choose to lie down, placing one hand on your heart and one on your belly, or sit in Supta Baddha Konasana. However you settle, let your heart face the sky, allowing love and compassion to flow effortlessly through you.
Take 3-5 deep breaths to arrive in your practice. On each exhale, you can offer these words out loud or silently in your mind, visualizing the person you are sending love to:
💜 Start with yourself:
"May I be happy. May I be safe. May I live a life of ease."
💜 Then send these words to someone you love:
"May you be happy. May you be safe. May you live a life of ease."
💜 Next, offer them to someone you don’t know well.
💜 Then, to someone you have a complicated relationship with.
💜 And finally, send them to all beings on this earth.
This practice is one of the most radical acts of love—because in a world that often teaches us to withhold love, offering it freely and to everybody is an act of rebellion.
