So, why practice Mindful Self-Compassion?
There are a number of benefits to be gained from adopting a mindful self-compassion practice.
Three key benefits:
- For our own well-being and happiness
- To have better connections with those around us
- For the “Us” –– the happiness and well-being of all
Research has shown that learning and applying MSC can lead to:
- Increased emotional resilience
- Reduction in anger
- Lower levels of body shame
- Decreases in anxiety and shame
- Facilitate resolution of trauma
- Increase in a general sense of wellbeing
- Failure is regarded as just unexpected results and an opportunity to grow
- Greater sense of nurturing
- Increase in peace of mind
One might ask, How could one thing affect so many areas of someone’s life?
Good question. The answer is that we are coming to realize that compassion is an essential part of our being and our well-being. And with all of our personal difficulties, such as our critical inner dialog, or past hurtful experiences, compassion for ourselves is can help.
See if this might be true for you. Think of any life event that remains difficult. Then ask yourself how much compassion was there at the time. When we review the events that bother us, we can see that we were treated without compassion, that compassion was deficient or missing altogether. By applying MSC, even though an event may be many years old, these adverse experiences can begin to resolve. It takes practice to build up the internal skills to be with ourselves in a compassionate way. So… we start slow and proceed in a steady manner.
In MSC, we become mindful of backdraft, a term that comes from firefighting. It refers to a room in a burning building that has had the doors and windows shut with fire all around it. What happens is that the fire sucks all the oxygen out of the room. If the firefighter rushes in, the fire nearly explodes with a fresh supply of oxygen, so they let in oxygen in a little at a time. That is what we learn to do with self-compassion… take it slowly, but continue diligently
The MSC 8-week program is designed to bring participants step-by-step through the process, building a good foundation all along and then becoming able to apply MSC to any situation, old or new, wherever compassion is needed. Thus, we can create a better, more caring relationship with ourselves which we then carry into all our relationships, and then out into the world at large.
Are you interested in learning more about mindful self-compassion? If so, check out our range of upcoming classes and courses that we have available.