Loving-Kindness Meditation — 10 min
Hold someone you love in mind and silently wish them well, then extend the same wishes to yourself, a neutral person, and eventually someone difficult.
Sit comfortably, close your eyes, bring someone you love to mind and silently wish them well — then turn the same wishes toward yourself, and, as it gets easier, toward someone neutral and eventually someone difficult.
The practice
- Sit comfortably and close your eyes.
- Bring to mind someone you love; hold them in your attention and silently wish them well.
- Turn the same wishes toward yourself.
- As it gets easier, extend the same wishes toward someone neutral, and eventually toward someone difficult.
- When your mind drifts, return to the person you were holding.
Where it fits in a day
- Start with a few minutes and extend the session over time toward the full ten minutes.
- Works as a standalone sit, or paired with another breath- or body-based practice already in a daily routine.
Why it works
- Moving the same goodwill through a sequence of people — loved one, self, neutral, difficult — is the structure that distinguishes this from open-ended relaxation.
- Returning attention to the held person when the mind drifts is part of the practice itself, not a failure of it.
Category
Mood — 10 minutes. Pairs well as a standalone morning or evening sit, or alongside another recovery practice already in the day.
Sources
- Harvard Health — Meditation: A Heartfelt Habit
- Harvard Health — Meditation Techniques: How to Meditate for Stress, Sleep and Focus
AgeGen mental-recovery practices are drawn from authoritative health agencies. We never claim therapeutic effects unsupported by the linked sources.
