A Loving-Kindness Practice
Designed by Bearmore
Inspired by Sharon SalzbergDo you remember to also wish yourself well?
Soften towards yourself and the people who test you. A short session inspired by Sharon Salzberg's metta teachings: settling your breathing, body scan, then send your kind thoughts out in four directions.
The runsheet
Settle your breathing
Breath countingSharon's instruction: get your breathing settled before trying to give to others. Seven minutes of counting or following the breath, eyes closed, sitting upright.
7 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing breath counting before body scan
This is an excellent pairing because counting establishes the anchored attention a scan needs to work, mirroring the standard breath-then-body sequence in meditation training.
Scan the body
Body scanSharon teaches body scan as one of the foundational mindfulness practices. A slow scan from feet to head, further settling your body before opening your kindness to others. Ten minutes is enough.
10 min activityBearmore’s thoughts on doing body scan before meditation (compassion)
There's a useful connection here because both are gentle meditative techniques, so the transition between them feels easy.
The four metta phrases
Meditation (compassion)Sharon's four classic phrases: may you be safe, happy, healthy, live with ease. Direct them in turn at yourself, someone you love, someone neutral, someone difficult. Repeat for the whole session.
20 min activityTime well spent.
47m spent doing something good for yourself.
The breakdown
Burst evaluation
Wellbeing focus
About this Burst
Sharon Salzberg is an American meditation teacher and co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society in Massachusetts. She is one of the most influential Western teachers of loving-kindness and insight meditation, with bestselling books including Lovingkindness, Real Happiness and Real Change. She has taught since 1974.