Soothe Anxiety With Your Pet: A Grounding Meditation

Soothe anxiety and settle into calm with this guided pet grounding and relaxation meditation. Gentle guidance invites you to connect with the steady, comforting presence of your pet—or the memory of your pet—supporting nervous system balance and emotional ease.

Through simple breath awareness and grounding cues, attention rests on feelings of warmth, safety, and companionship, allowing the mind to quiet and the body to soften into deep rest.

Transcript

A few minutes with your best friend can turn around your day.

I'm Chibzo Karake and I'm lucky enough to be here with two of my best friends,

Zee and her big sister Olive.

Zee has just turned one,

Olive is three,

They're little Lhasa Apsos from Tibet and we're all going to take a quick breather together.

But why do this with your pet?

Well,

Because meditation doesn't always have to be a solo effort.

Because your pet's steady presence can help your body feel safe.

Because a warm paw,

A soft purr,

A look that says you're their whole world,

They can all settle the nervous system fast.

When our furry friends are around,

We don't have to think our way out of stress.

We can feel our way out,

Side by side with our best friend.

Our time together is going to be simple,

No goals,

No pressure.

If your pet's with you,

Great.

If your pet's not with you,

That's okay too.

And if you've never had a pet,

You can still join in.

Think of a friend or neighbour's pet that makes you smile.

And even if sadly your pet is no longer with us,

You can bring them to mind as well.

My beautiful Ridgeback is in doggy heaven and I often think about her and it still brings me warmth,

Even after all these years of being apart.

So this meditation is for all of us and for pets past and present.

Today,

We're going to slow the breath,

We'll soften the body and we'll use our buddy as a calming anchor so that we can ease out of overthinking and back into here and now.

All my instructions today are optional.

Feel free to take what helps and leave the rest.

So,

Are you ready to take a breather with me,

Olive and Zee?

Okay,

Let's get started.

Finding a comfortable position.

Sitting or even lying down.

If your pet is near you,

Let them choose where to be.

On your lap,

By your feet,

Sprawled on the floor like they own the place.

Perfect.

Eyes open or closed,

Whichever feels good right now.

Allow your hands to rest where they naturally want to be.

If a hand can rest on your pet's fur,

Lovely.

If not,

Just place your hands on your lap.

If you like,

You can even put a hand on your chest or belly.

Whatever feels steady,

Whatever feels kind.

Let's begin by taking a slow,

Gentle breath in and a long,

Easy breath out.

Again,

A soft breath in and an even softer breath out.

And one more time,

Breathing in and out.

And now letting your breath settle into its own,

Easy rhythm.

No need to force anything.

The body knows exactly how to breathe.

We're simply keeping it company.

And let's do a little scan through the body now.

Noticing what the body feels like sitting or lying here.

You might notice the weight of your body being held by the chair,

The bed,

The floor.

You might notice the temperature on your skin,

Cooler air on the face.

If your pet is with you,

Perhaps you notice the feel of their fur on your hand or maybe warmth where your pet is tucked in beside you or on your lap.

If your mind is busy,

That's fine.

Minds get busy.

We're not trying to stop thoughts.

We're simply giving the nervous system a chance to feel settled enough so that the thoughts don't need to work so hard.

Okay,

Good.

And now we're going to gently scan our body from the crown of the head down to the toes.

It's going to be like we're switching off little lights,

Bringing our awareness to the forehead,

Softening the forehead,

Turning off those little lights,

Moving around the eyes now,

Softening the eyes,

Softening the cheeks and jaw,

Tongue resting lightly in the mouth,

Moving our awareness to the neck and shoulders.

You might even want to roll the shoulders a little and then let gravity do the rest.

Arms heavy,

Hands loose,

Fingers uncurled and relaxed.

Moving to the chest and upper back now,

Noticing the rise on the inhale,

The fall on the exhale,

Moving to the belly now,

Rising and falling.

Even if the belly feels tight,

We're meeting it with warmth,

Not pressure.

Relaxing the hips,

Softening the thighs,

Shins,

The calves,

The ankles.

Relaxing the shoulders now,

The feet.

Now if your pet's with you,

You can keep your eyes closed or feel free to gently open them.

If they're not with you,

You can picture them in your mind and feel free to say a quiet hello to them in your mind.

And notice what you love about them.

Maybe it's the shape of their breath,

A twitching ear,

The weight of a paw,

The rhythm of a purr,

Or those dramatic little dog snores.

Notice the way they look at you,

Like you're their whole world.

Feel their fur or the memory of their fur under your hand.

The way your shoulders drop when they curl into you.

You might rest their head on your shoulder.

Or rest a hand on them if they're close by.

Or rest a hand on your chest or heart as a stand in for their warmth.

Let the hand be heavy.

Let the hand say,

I'm here.

Let's take a few breaths together here.

Noticing the inhale.

Perhaps we can feel the cool air entering the nostrils as the chest and the lungs and the stomach expand.

And then we might notice the warm air leaving the nostrils as we breathe out.

As the body softens and relaxes and sinks a little deeper.

If your pet is near,

Pick one simple thing to pay attention to together.

Maybe the warmth where your bodies meet.

Or the sound of the breath.

Or the feeling of fur gliding under your fingertips.

If your buddy isn't near you,

You can imagine them.

Maybe you can even sense their warmth.

Just like they're right beside you.

Our body doesn't need them to be here physically to remember how that calm feels.

And let's stay with one of these touch points,

These anchors,

For a few breaths.

When the mind pulls you away,

Gently come back to that one anchor.

Like tossing a ball and calmly walking over to pick it up again.

No drama.

If it helps you to relax,

I invite you to picture a place where you and your pet feel safe.

Perhaps a sofa with a soft blanket,

A patch of sun on the floor.

A favourite corner of the garden.

There's nothing to fix,

Nothing to prove.

Just the ease of being together.

Maybe you can feel the corners of your mouth soften into a small smile.

Or maybe not.

Either way,

You're doing it.

In your mind,

Thank your buddy for sticking by you.

They've seen you on your best and your worst days.

And they stay.

That loyalty is medicine.

We'll ease into a minute of quiet now.

For this next minute,

You can have your eyes open or closed.

And if you like,

You can stay with your anchor.

The breath,

The warmth,

The sound of purring,

The steady weight of a paw.

If your pet wriggles or wanders off,

That's okay.

That's all part of the process.

We follow reality,

Not perfection.

We adjust.

We smile.

We carry on.

Let's spend some silent time now,

Enjoying our pet or the thought of our pet.

And as we reach the end of this meditation,

Keeping the eyes closed,

Let's notice how the body's feeling now.

And let's notice how the mind is feeling.

If it feels good,

You might want to offer a quiet thank you to your best friend.

For the way they greet you like you've been gone for years.

For their ridiculous naps.

For teaching you how to be here now.

If they're close,

Feel free to open the eyes and give a gentle pat or a cuddle.

If they're in your mind,

Send them that same warmth.

They'll get it.

Now,

As you move on with your day or evening,

Carry one small thread from this practice.

Maybe it's the slow,

Intentional breath.

Maybe it's the feel of fur under your palm.

Maybe it's a look in their eyes that says,

You're alright.

You can come back to this meditation anytime.

Just a few minutes on the sofa with your best friend can change the whole tone of a day.

I'm Shibzo Karake,

And thanks for taking this break with me and your best friend.

Reviews

Lovely - thank you Chibs 🙏🏼💝🌟

This was lovely, thank you. I listened to this with my 2-year-old Jack Russell, Pip, peacefully asleep in my lap. We found out recently that Pip has IBS and he's been quite poorly this past week with it. This was a lovely soothing practice for both of us at the end of a challenging week. I really believe in the healing power of becoming present with the animals in our lives, both for us and them. Today, Pip entered a dream state during this practice, twitching away, which I believe is a sign of healing. I felt very comforted by focusing on his warmth in my lap. I'll enjoy returning to this practice, thank you for offering it. 🙏

Lovely practice. I felt blessed by the calming presence of current and past companions 💗 🐕Thank you.