Mindful Self Compassion
Tired of always being your worst critic?
Looking to develop a gentler relationship with yourself?
The Mindful Self-Compassion Program is a research-backed 8-week program that helps you to become your own best friend first.
What is Self-Compassion?
Self-compassion is showing up for yourself as you would wish to show up for a dear friend. It includes self-kindness (being warm to oneself instead of critical), mindfulness (seeing what is going on in our body without over-identifying or ignoring it), and common humanity (remembering that we are not alone).
Learning self-compassion is often referred to as re-parenting or de-programming ourselves. Throughout our lives, when we meet people who don’t love us as we wish, our bodies begin to internalize that dynamic as a way to control the pain of disconnection.
We begin to see ourselves as unworthy, and because of that hide the parts of ourselves we believe won’t embraced by others.
Over time, learning self-compassion helps us to embrace all parts of ourselves and to live authentically.
How does this teach self-compassion?
The Mindful Self Compassion Program teaches self-compassion largely by having students practice it. Each week, students are introduced to new topics, such as mindfulness, meeting challenging emotions, or embracing happiness. The instruction element of the class is short, just enough so students know the basics.
Most of the class time, students explore these topics through meditations, practices, and exercises. Students can then take these practices into their daily life - gaining practical skills to meet themselves exactly where they are.
What will I gain?
The Mindful Self-Compassion Program is a research-backed way to improve self-compassion, and the gains made during the program have been shown to last over time.
The benefits of self-compassion are wide-reaching - from better mental health, to improved resilience, to better relationships. All things start to feel possible when we start to love ourselves first.
Week One
In week one, I introduce what self-compassion it and address misgivings about it. It’s a light, informational week where we introduce ourselves and learn some simple, in-the-moment ways to be kind to ourselves.
Topics: What is self-compassion, How to approach this program
Practices: Soothing and supportive touch, Self-compassion break
Individual Exploration Exercises: Why are you here? What are your guiding principles?
Week Two
In week two, I introduce mindfulness (paying nonjudgmental attention to what’s going on). We will meditate on the breath, practice grounding ourselves, and explore the ways resisting the reality around us causes suffering. I will also introduce the idea of backdraft - which is that when we are kind to ourselves, all things unlike kindness can arise within us.
Topics: Mindfulness, Resistance, Backdraft
Meditations: Affectionate Breathing
Practices: Soles of the Feet, Behavioral Self-Compassion
Individual Exploration Exercises: How are we causing ourselves suffering?
Week Three
In week three, I will introduce the differences between kindness and compassion, and we will explore how each feel in the body. At the end of the session, each participant will try to find kind ways to speak to themselves.
Topics: Kindness, Compassion
Meditations: Loving-Kindness for a Loved One
Practices: Compassionate Movement
Individual Exploration Exercises: Awakening our hearts to others, Loving kindness phrases for ourselves.
Week Four
In week four, I will introduce the common stages that people go through as they learn self-compassion - to help normalize disillusionment or striving. We will explore what it means to learn self-compassion at a safe pace, which is always slow, and how to sit with self-criticism.
Topics: Stages of Progress, Compassionate Motivation, Self-Criticism and Safety
Meditations: Loving-Kindness for Ourselves
Practices: Compassionate Letter to Myself
Individual Exploration Exercises: Motivating ourselves with compassion.
Week Five
In week five, I will introduce the idea that self-compassion includes living in a way that is deeply aligned to our core values, and seeing the lessons and gifts in everything we go through. Students will explore their core values, and at the end of the class practice how to sit fully present for another person.
Topics: Living Deeply, Hidden Value in Suffering, Listening with compassion
Meditations: Giving and Receiving Deeply
Practices: Living with a Vow, Compassionate Listening
Individual Exploration Exercises: Discovering our core values, Silver linings
Retreat
Near the middle of the program, we will have a five hour silent meditation practice to deepen our mindfulness and compassion practices.
Topics: Meditation Retreats, Posture instructions
Meditations: Compassionate body scan, Affectionate breathing, Loving kindness for ourselves
Practices: Sense and savor walk, Savoring food, Soles of the feet, Compassionate movement, Compassionate walking
Individual Exploration Exercises: Coming out of silence
Week Six
After the retreat, we begin more difficult work. In week six, I will introduce how to meet challenging emotions, like anger and shame, with compassion.
Topics: Meeting difficult emotions, Stages of acceptance, Approaches to difficult emotions
Meditations: Loving-Kindness for ourselves
Practices: Being with difficult emotions, Self-compassion break for shame, Being with shame
Individual Exploration Exercises:
Week Seven
In week seven, I will introduce how to meet challenging relationships with compassion. We will explore how to use compassion to meet the pains of disconnection and connection, and how to begin to mindfully forgive others.
Topics: Challenging Relationships, Pain of Disconnection, Pain of Connection Forgiveness
Meditations: Compassionate friend
Practices: Self-compassion breaks in relationships, Compassion with equanimity, Forgiving others
Individual Exploration Exercises: Anger and unmet needs
Week Eight
In week eight, we will end on a later note. I will introduce how to include gratitude and savoring as regular practices to foster a sense of connection to the good in the world.
Topics: Embracing Life, Cultivating Happiness, Savoring and gratitude, Self-appreciation
Meditations: Compassion for Self and Others
Practices: Gratitude for small things, Appreciating our good qualities
Individual Exploration Exercises: What would I like to remember from this course?