Mindful Self-Compassion Meditations
Soft Landing Meditation
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“Soft Landing” is an informal meditation used in Mindful Self-Compassion (MSC), an empirically-supported, 8-week training program designed to cultivate the skill of self-compassion. Based on the groundbreaking research of Dr. Kristin Neff and the clinical expertise of Dr. Christopher Germer, MSC teaches core principles and practices that enable participants to respond to difficult moments in their lives with kindness, care and understanding.
Soft Landing is an exercise used for transition times of the day, such as when arriving at work or home or returning to your office after a meeting or lunch. It’s helpful for centering to this present moment and bringing an affectionate awareness to ourselves in this moment. Sometimes it’s helpful to think of ourselves as passengers on an airplane, coming in for a soft landing, with intention and high regard for our own well-being. This meditation is typically 1-3 minutes and is semi-structured, meaning that you can sense what you are needing in this moment and respond to your needs. For example, you may wish to take three deep breaths rather than one. Or, you may wish to stick with the sensation of being deeply grounded in your chair and to the earth below you. In other words, Soft Landing is an opportunity to tune in to what you're needing in this moment, before you move into your next activity. |