Find a nice, comfortable seat on the floor or in your chair. Begin by placing your hands face down on your legs and making your spine really tall. Reach up for the ceiling with the crown of your head. When you inhale, lift your shoulders up high by your ears, and when you exhale, let them roll down your back. Do this two more times- taking a really big breath in, and opening the mouth to let the breath out.

Now bring one hand onto your heart, and place your other hand on top of it. If you are comfortable closing your eyes, close your eyes. This allows us to turn our attention inside the body, instead of worrying about things going on outside.

Begin to breathe in and out of your nose now. See if you can breathe into your hands, expanding your heart. Imagine that each breath in is filling up your heart with a beautiful, warm light, and each breath out is sending that light to those around you. With each cycle of breath, imagine the light of your heart getting bigger and bigger. Eventually, you can imagine that your whole body is glowing with the light that is coming from your heart. You might even start to feel warm and cozy because of this light. Notice if any other feelings have come up.

Notice how big your light has become, and see if your breath can make it so big that it takes up the whole room. Now you can share with everyone around you.

If you can, think of someone who you’d like to share some warm heart light with. Maybe it is a friend or a parent; maybe it is someone that you would like to be friends with, or someone whose day you’d like to make better.

Imagine your warm light spreading to that person and making their heart warm and light too. This practice is called compassion. When we want to help someone but aren’t sure how, we can practice this warm heart meditation and send some light their way to make their heart warm too. Sometimes we need to give back to our own hearts, so this is also a good practice for your own heart.

Students: If you, or a friend, are having a bad day, you can practice this meditation to feel warm and cozy.

Teachers: This can be a wonderful practice if students are having a hard time with compassion, such as: sharing, connecting with others, and connecting with their emotions.