What Is Metta Bhavana Meditation?

What Is Metta Bhavana Meditation?

Metta-bhavana, from the Pali language, means "cultivating loving kindness". So Metta Bhavana meditation is a practice whereby we actively cultivate positive emotional states towards others, as well as to ourselves, enabling us to be more open to others, thus developing a sense of harmony both with those we love and also with those towards whom we harbour more negative feelings.

Through doing this we are able to let go of resentment, anger, impatience and ill feelings - often by holding onto negative feelings in relation to others we are hurting mainly ourselves! Therefore loving kindness is a practice of learning to treat ourselves better, to give ourselves less of a "hard time".

It's so easy to slip through life, chastising ourselves daily for the things we haven't done, that extra slice of cheesecake we ate, that job we didn't get. Sometimes we forget to pat ourselves on the back now and again, to make friends with ourselves. It is only when we treat ourselves well that we are able to be fully present for our loved ones and to extend our loving kindness to those who need it most.

Want to learn more? Camyoga's founder, Louise Palmer-Masterton, will be leading a FREE Metta Bhavana Meditation in the Dance Tent at The Big Weekend on Parker's Piece this Sunday. Satisfy your curiosity - you deserve it! Learn more.