18_ Self-Compassion

If you don’t love yourself, you cannot love others. You will not be able to love others. If you have no compassion for yourself then you are not capable of developing compassion for others. —Dalai Lama XIV Self-Compassion At Home Resources Level: Lower Elementary (K-2) Concepts: • Mindfulness • Self-Compassion • Self-Kindness • Self-TalkBig Ideas For This LessonJust as we show kindness and compassion to others, we can learn to practice showing this samecompassion towards ourselves. This is the gist of self-compassion. With enough awareness,self-compassion is accessible in any given moment. There are three basic components of self-com-passion:1. Self-Kindness: Treating ourselves with the same warmth and understanding that we treat friends, family and even strangers. Especially when experiencing the inevitable difficulties of life.2. Common Humanity: The recognition that our problems and sufferings are normal parts of being human and that we are not alone in our struggles.3. Mindfulness: Conscious, non-judgmental awareness, and recognition of our challenging emo-tions and thoughts without ignoring, escaping, or getting swept away by them.Essential VocabularyCompassion: Recognizing the suffering in others and feeling motivated to take action. To suffer with. Inner Critic: Ourown self-critical thoughts and inner dialogue, conscious or unconscious. The “voice in your head” that responds to diffi-culties with criticism and self-judgment.Mindfulness: Paying attention to what is happening in the present moment. Moment-to-moment, non-judgmen-tal awareness of thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations and environmental cues. Mindfulness is considered a “practice”of developing the abilities of awareness, focus, concentration, attention and acceptance. (One of the three elements ofself-compassion.)Self-Compassion: Recognizing our own suffering and feeling motivated to take action. Treating our selves with thesame love, compassion, and kindness that we would treat other’s with.© 2018 Empowering Education, Inc. PAGE 1 of 2 All rights reserved.

SELF COMPASSION | GRADES K-2 PracticeHelp your student to think of a time when they could have been more compassionate towards themselves. Then,practice taking a self-compassion break using the three components of self-compassion. You can also model thispractice by sharing about a time you could have used self-compassion in your own life.Optional: Think of a phrase to remind yourself to practice self-compassion. You can also ask yourself, “What doI need to hear right now to express kindness to myself?” Is there a phrase that speaks to you in your particularsituation, such as:• May I give myself the compassion that I need• May I learn to accept myself as I amWrite your phrase here:This practice can be used any time of day or night, and will help you remember to evoke the three aspects ofself-compassion when you need it most. Student Resources• A Bad Case of Stripes (Picture Book) by David Shannon• The Bat Boy & His Violin (Picture Book) by Gavin Curtis• Amazing Grace (Picture Book) by Mary Hoffman• Crouching Tiger (Picture Book) by Ying Change Compestine• M e I Am! (Picture Book) by Jack Prelutsky• Wisdom Within (Picture Book) by Allison Morgan• Zero (Picture Book) by Kathryn Otosh Adult Resources• Mindful Self-Compassion Meditations by Dr. Christopher Germer (Downloads)• How to Take a Self-Compassion Break (PDF)• How to Write a Compassionate Letter to Myself (PDF)• Self-Compassion Home Page by Dr. Kristin Neff (Website)• Self-Compassion Resources Website by Dr. Kristin Neff Resources (Website)• The Space Between Self-Esteem and Self Compassion: Kristin Neff at TEDxCentennial Park Women (Video 19:00) © 2017 Empowering Education, Inc. PAGE 2 of 2 All rights reserved.