Meditation To Feel Safe In Your Body

The window of tolerance is a term used to describe the zone of arousal in which a person is able to function most effectively. When people are within this zone, they are typically able to readily receive, process, and integrate information and otherwise respond to the demands of everyday life without much difficulty. This optimal window was first named by Dan Siegel.

Transcript

Welcome to today's meditation. We are now going to focus on our breath. Please close your eyes when you are ready and make sure that you're in a comfortable position. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth during this meditation. We are now going to think about how to create safety in our body. Professor Dan Siegel describes the window of tolerance as the optimal zone of arousal for a person to function in everyday life. It is a model founded in neuroscience which helps maintain our physical, Emotional and mental health. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. When we feel stressed or triggered, It is natural to be outside of our window of tolerance. We may experience hyper arousal which is our fight against our fight or flight response or hypo arousal which is our freeze response. Breathe in slowly and deeply through your nose. Exhale slowly and deeply through your mouth. When we experience hyper arousal or hypo arousal, Our nervous system becomes dysregulated. In a hyper arousal state, We may feel anxious, Angry, Out of control, Overwhelmed or stressed. In a hypo arousal state, We may feel dissociated, Numb, Frozen, Depressed or shut down. Our window of tolerance is also affected by our environment. We are generally able to remain within our window when we feel safe and supported. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth and repeat this another three to five times. When we tune into the natural rhythm of our breath, We can use our breath to help to regulate our emotions and to bring us back to a sense of calm. You can continue to meditate in your own time or you can bring your attention back to your body and when you are ready, Please open your eyes and come back into the room.