Meditation All About Love

Happy Valentine’s Day (or: Single Awareness Day)! To speak plainly, it doesn’t matter if you don’t have that special someone in your life. Love is not always about another person, and even when it is, it doesn’t necessarily need to be romantic. You can love your dog, or your friend, or your coworker, or yourself! Love doesn’t even need to be directed towards a being. Love can just be love. It doesn’t need to be cute or mushy or gross. Love at its barest form is pure and unabashed–without flowers or chocolates or obligations. It’s a powerful force that binds the world together (ignore the slight Star Wars reference). Let’s try just taking a moment today to focus on love and find what good it can do for you. Below is a short meditation all about love to get you in the right mindset today.

Find somewhere you can be undisturbed for a few minutes. Preferably, you should be seated, but laying down or standing up is fine too.

Close your eyes. Take a big breath and let it all out. Anything pent up or bugging you, let it go just for a few minutes. 

Let your breath grow normal and just listen and follow it for a few moments. In your mind’s eye, watch as air fills you up and then leaves you. Find the tempo of that breath. How does your breath move you? Does it puff up your stomach? Or perhaps your chest? Pay attention to that breath.

Now that you’re attuned to your breath, guide it. Count to ten. Inhale with one, exhale with two, inhale with three, exhale with four, and so forth. Get to ten and then repeat two more times. 

Let’s focus on positive emotions now. Continue that steady breathing, but instead of counting, try this: inhale the word “love” and exhale. Let it spread across you and fill you up. It can take any form, maybe it’s a warm embrace or maybe a certain someone floats to the top of your mind. 

Once you’ve focused on love for a good amount of time, let’s move to gratitude. Gratitude is an important part of life, I believe. I think it’s the key to happiness, truly, and it also ties in together with love. Breathe in gratitude, let it fill you up. Let it overtake you, wash over you, fill your mind. Breathe with it.

Let your mind drift if it wants to, or continue to embrace the positive emotions that you have been focusing on. Stay in this space for a few minutes, enjoy it, bask in it. 

Slowly, when you’re open, let your eyes blink open softly. Take a moment to get acquainted with your surroundings again, but take your time.

Take a big inhale and then exhale through your mouth, a big loud motion. Repeat three times. 

How do you feel now? More grateful? More kind? More loving? Even if you don’t, give yourself a pat on the back for taking the time to give your mind a workout and also a breather. I cannot stress the importance of meditation in one’s life. You work on your physical health, but your mental health is important too. This meditation only took a few minutes. I guarantee you can fit that in each day. I struggle with it too, but find quiet moments in your day to just sit back and breathe. You’ll find balance, control, and peace–I promise it’s really that lovely. So whatever your Valentine’s Day plans today, make sure to give yourself a little love and perform this meditation. Do this meditation to stay hungry and fit!

BONUS KITTY AND PUPPY PIC