PYRC
Psychedelic
Yoga
Research
Collective
Mirrors and Self-Compassion
The Practice
As adults, we have become habituated to mirrors. If we look at ourselves, it is often only to groom or to judge ourselves: do we like what we see? It wasn't always this way. As children, we met our own image with open curiosity and fascination. What might happen inside us if we looked again at our reflections with beginner's mind?
The mirror meditation is simple: observe yourself in the mirror. Notice what arises—what thoughts, bodily sensations, emotions. Just as psychedelic states cause psychic material to emerge, "mirroring" our inner world back to us, literal mirrors do the same. And, just as with psychedelics, reinforcement loops emerge. Think of how two mirrors facing each other create an infinite regress, an image reflecting an image reflecting an image into a vanishing point. Such loops can also emerge at the level of emotions and self-concept. Negative self-feelings, vis-à-vis the mirror, can become amplified, creating a vicious cycle.
Vital to this practice is the use of awareness to gently redirect negative self-feelings and to introduce positive loops. Using the mirror as a portal into self-examination, the practitioner learns to move through what arises and hold it in a framework of self-acceptance and compassion.
Research Questions
How do specific intentions, mantras, and affirmations affect the experience in mirror gazing? Could mirror gazing offer a means of nervous-system self-regulation for those experiencing anxiety? How can this practice support preparation for and integration of psychedelic sessions—improving somatic awareness, softening the inner critic?
Three-Circle Methodology
Individual Circle: Two practitioners developing deep personal practice through daily 5-10 minute sessions with journaling. Fresh eyes and no preconceived limitations create authentic discovery.
Small Group Circle: Individual innovations flow to systematic refinement with 3-6 practitioners over 6 weeks. The group refines the practice through feedback and pattern-recognition—perhaps some mantras emerge as more effective for engendering self-compassion, some approaches more efficacious. This is where teachability gets developed.
Community Circle: 12-50 person workshops testing accessibility across diverse backgrounds, gathering feedback, refining language and teaching methods.
Outcome Measurement
Primary outcome: Self-compassion, measured via Kristin Neff's Self-Compassion Scale (12-item short form)—validated, low assessment fatigue, directly on target.