Loneliness at the Holidays

I think it's safe to say that loneliness can intensify around the holidays, a day where many people come together with their loved ones, family, and friends. But maybe this year, holidays look a bit different for you. Maybe you're alone or you're experiencing loss and grieving someone who's no longer here. Wherever you find yourself, it's important that we can meet ourselves wherever we are and work with this sense of loneliness in a kind and compassionate way. In this practice, we'll be using the skillful compassion exercise as a way to transform that sense of loneliness into something lighter and more spacious. We'll be breathing in that sense of loneliness, grief, loss, whatever it is that you're feeling. And as we breathe it out, we're exchanging it with a sense of kindness and connection, whatever it is that you may be needing in this moment. The experience of loneliness can be quite isolating, and it can seem like we're all alone. But with this practice, we're using the breath as a way to give and receive, accept and let go, with ourselves first but then all others who may be experiencing the same thing. So whatever stirs that feeling, that thought of loneliness, we meet it with a breath, with a sense of openness and spaciousness as we breathe it in. And as we breathe it out, sending a sense of ease, compassion, and grace to ourselves and all others experiencing loneliness too. We'll begin with the eyes open to a soft, gentle gaze. And just taking a moment here to get comfortable, sitting upright or lying down. Softening the eyebrows, the jaw, the neck, and shoulders. And taking some nice, big, deep breaths, breathing in through the nose and then out through the mouth. Now closing the eyes, if you'd like. Returning the breath back to its natural rhythm and bringing to mind an intention for your practice. Getting clear on your sense of purpose or motivation for being here. And then bringing the focus to the body and to the breath and just gently noticing that rising and falling sensation of the breath as you breathe in and as you breathe out. Noticing where you can feel the breath in the body, maybe in the tip of the nose, in the chest, or stomach. And just watching each breath. If you'd like, placing one hand on your chest, over your heart, and the other on your stomach. Holding yourself here with a sense of gentleness and compassion. We'll begin by seeing if you can sense loneliness in the body. It could live in your chest or stomach, maybe in the mind. Just taking a moment here to locate its presence in the body, noticing if it has a texture or shape, a color. Just noticing what it feels like in the body. And if that's too much, shifting the focus to an area of the body that's a bit more neutral. And using the breath now,...