Metta/Loving Kindness Meditation
What you’ll need: A blanket, pillow, or other bolster to keep your hips above your knees
About the Class
This short, guided meditation practice uses mantra (the repetition of words or phrases). Using mantra can help calm the nervous system. This can create a sense of peace within. You can practice Metta/Loving Kindness Meditation from the comfort of your home or office.
Tara, a certified yoga therapist, will share tips to help you find a comfortable seated position. Then, she will guide you through simple poses, gentle breathing instruction, and short mantras. This includes kind words to say to yourself and with others in mind. Restful instrumental music helps promote relaxation.
What is loving kindness meditation, and how can it help?
Loving kindness meditation (or LKM for short) has Buddhist roots. It’s sometimes called metta meditation. Metta is a Thai word, commonly translated as “loving kindness” or “universal friendliness.”
Worry, stress, fear, and anxiety are all normal responses to a cancer diagnosis. Meditation can help us stay calmer and more grounded when facing challenges, such as a cancer diagnosis, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Meditating helps us sit quietly and turn inward. Through stillness, we can observe our thoughts and then let them go, without self-judgment. As our thoughts pass by “like clouds in the sky, we start to feel a greater sense of peace within,” Tara notes.
Loving kindness meditation encourages feelings of self-compassion and love for others. It can also boost our well-being. Research studies have shown the potential benefits of LKM. These benefits include reduced pain, increased resilience, and improved mental health.
What is the best time of day to practice Metta/Loving Kindness Meditation?
Meditation practices, including Metta/Loving Kindness Meditation, can be beneficial any time of the day. Meditating in the morning can help you set the tone for your day. At night, practicing meditation can help you fall asleep. Choose what works for you.
Today we will be choosing love over fear, and choosing to love ourselves and others.
About Tara
Tara is a trauma-informed yoga therapist (C-IAYT, TIYT) and the creator of LOV Yoga, a yoga and wellness business. She was inspired to start LOV Yoga because of her own deep connection with cancer as a caregiver and through losing her husband to melanoma in 2016. Practicing yoga and mindfulness during that time helped Tara find a sense of healing within. Tara has over 1,200 hours of accredited yoga training and 8 years of teaching experience, largely focused around cancer care, grief, trauma, and perinatal support.
