Touch as a self compassion practice

“We teach soothing and supportive touch as a foundational self-compassion practice… When we are upset, sometimes we are too overwhelmed to remember to speak to ourselves kindly. The act of dropping out of our heads and into our bodies by moving our attention away from our thoughts to focus on a physical sensation such as touch can be incredibly helpful in difficult moments.

“Instructions:

“Try out some different types of touch to see how they make you feel. Linger for about fifteen seconds with each type of touch and let yourself really sink into the experience. Check in to see the effect on your body. It’s good to find one touch that can help you feel soothed and comforted and another that helps you feel strong, empowered, and supported. People are different, so experiment until you find what works best for you.

“Some tender soothing options include:
One or two hands over your heart
Cradling your face in your hands
Gently stroking your arms
Crossing your arms and giving a gentle squeeze
Hugging yourself and rocking softly back and forth

“Some strong supportive options include:
A fist on your heart with the other hand over it
One or two hands on your solar plexus, your energetic center (which is located right below your ribcage and about three inches above your belly button)
One hand on your heart and one on your solar plexus Squeezing your own hand
Two arms planted firmly on your hips

“The idea is to find a “go-to” touch that you can use automatically in stressful or difficult situations. Choose a couple for now and try using them whenever you are feeling emotional or physical discomfort. Sometimes our minds are too overwhelmed to think straight, but you can use touch to communicate compassion to your body. It’s an easy and surprisingly effective way to care for and support yourself.”

~ taken from Dr Neff’s book on Fierce Self-Compassion