Positive words and actions can help you feel better about yourself and the world that surrounds you!
It feels good to do good, a quite simple sentence that we should keep in our minds forever. “Humans are closely connected, and when you practice something that feels kind and compassionate, it helps us feel less isolated and alone,” explains Kristin Neff Ph.D., an associate professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and the author of The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook.
Experiencing feelings of warmth and compassion go a long way toward boosting our mental health, helping us feel safe, secure and calm. Research has shown that including kindness into our life can have positive effects in your both physical and mental health.
A study of 1,100 adults aged 51-91 found that those who volunteered an average of four hours a week were 40% less likely to have developed hypertension than non-volunteers. There´s also evidence kindness can lessen migraines and reduce symptoms of chronic pain.
Loving-Kindness Meditation was created by researcher Emma Seppala, science director of the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education at Stanford University, and is designed to help you tune into your own feelings as well as send kindness and compassion to others.
Research from positive psychologist Barbara Fredrickson found that adults who practiced loving-kindness meditation for seven weeks had higher levels of positive emotions like love, joy and hope, which helped them feel greater satisfaction with life and experience fewer symptoms of illness.
We want to share 3 tips with you when you practice Kindness and Compassion Meditation. Great tips taken from Kristin Neff, Ph.D., Why Kindness Count by Alyssa Shaffer.
- If you are struggling with a tough issue, remember to be mindful of what you are doing. Recognize that you are struggling: “This is hard, and I am suffering”.
- Then, realize that this is a common human experience, it’s not just you who is struggling, being human means being imperfect; you are not alone.
- Finally, practice kindness both to yourself and to others, you can even speak to yourself in the third person, tell yourself: “I´m sorry, this is difficult, but you’ll get through it.”
Self-compassion is treating yourself with the same kindness, care and concern you show a loved one.
