Anchoring Into Support & Safety

In this practice, you will be guided to connect with an anchor that brings a sense of support, safety, and comfort to your system and tune your awareness to the felt sensations this brings. By regularly connecting to an anchor, you increase your sense of internal safety and build a greater capacity to be more present in times of overwhelm and difficulty.

Transcript

In this meditation I'm going to help guide you to connect to your body and to connect to a safe anchor.

So a safe anchor could be anyone or anything that brings about a sense of peace,

Perhaps a sense of grounding,

Relaxation into your being.

This anchor could be a person that you have in your life,

A loved one,

It could be a pet,

It could also be a place in nature or an element in nature.

It could even be a favourite object.

There are no wrong answers here and anytime you practice this meditation it may be a different anchor each time or it may be the same one.

And before we even connect to our anchor,

Making sure that you are comfortable in a space seated or lying down.

And before you close your eyes,

Just take a moment to very slowly move your gaze around the space that you are currently in.

So just letting your eyes move softly,

Taking in,

Noticing,

Observing what you see and letting your eyes,

Your gaze,

Just linger on something in the room or space that you are in that you find pleasant to look at.

Maybe you are looking outside a window at a view,

Perhaps it's a picture or an object,

But just letting your gaze rest on whatever this is that perhaps sparks a little bit of joy or calm.

Noticing textures,

Colours,

Observing almost with a childlike curiosity.

And whenever you are ready I invite you to close down the eyes and allowing yourself to begin to rest here.

And begin by bringing your awareness to the support that's beneath you,

That's holding you.

Noticing where on the body you feel that support,

Whether you are on a couch,

A bed,

A chair,

The ground.

Noticing the solidness,

The steadiness,

That you can rest and allow the full weight of your body to sink down,

That you don't have to effort to hold yourself up.

And maybe even noticing where in the body that you are holding,

Sometimes we aren't aware that we are clenching or gripping.

So perhaps you can drop your shoulders just a little,

Unclench the jaw,

Let that back body soften,

Allow yourself to be held.

Can you give yourself permission to be held,

To be supported?

And perhaps you notice that a particular part of the body responds really well to this,

That it's receiving permission to soften,

To let go.

And so we are going to move our awareness now from this support to our internal landscape and to the best ability that we can,

Releasing any judgement around what may be here.

So take a moment first of all to notice any parts of the body that perhaps are feeling a sensation.

You may notice energy moving,

Perhaps pulsating or buzzing,

Tingling,

Or maybe there isn't so much movement as a heaviness,

Or a pulling or tightening,

Just getting curious about the texture of the sensation,

The weight,

The temperature,

Perhaps it's warm or cool.

Simply observing.

And as you rest your attention on it,

Perhaps it starts to move or change,

Could be softening or expanding.

And moving your awareness now to any parts of the body that feel no sensation or not much sensation,

Anywhere that maybe feels neutral,

Steady,

Just scanning the body and resting that awareness on any steadiness or stillness.

And if you're struggling to find somewhere,

Know that that is okay.

Maybe you simply rest your awareness on anywhere in the body that feels numb or that doesn't feel anything.

Sometimes dropping into our physical experience can be a little bit challenging,

Especially if we're not used to doing it.

So just know that with practice,

It becomes easier to attune to what is here physically.

And even if all you are noticing is numbness,

That you are still practicing physical awareness.

So releasing this body awareness,

We're going to shift into connecting with our anchor.

So I want to invite you to visualize,

To bring to mind anything,

Anyone or any place that brings a sense of support and softness into your being.

As I mentioned,

This could be a person,

A pet or animal.

It could be an element in nature,

Perhaps water or trees or a mountain.

It could also be a place that you have visited that has good energy attached to it or happy memories.

And once you have found this anchor,

Just as we did with tracking the sensation in our body,

Let's get descriptive with this anchor.

What do you notice about it?

If it's a person,

Perhaps you are connecting to their energy.

Or if this anchor is a place or element in nature,

Noticing its qualities,

Really immerse yourself into this connection.

What does bringing this anchor to mind bring to you?

Joy,

Comfort,

Happiness,

Love,

Peace.

And allow yourself to connect to those feelings.

Noticing the qualities of this anchor,

The energy it brings and surrounding yourself with that energy.

And as you do this,

Notice how your body responds.

Perhaps you can feel a softening,

Maybe an expansion or spaciousness,

Lightness,

Warmth.

Just notice if the body is responding to connecting to this anchor.

And maybe where you feel these sensations.

Perhaps you notice the breath slowing down,

Lingering in this awareness.

And seeing if you can let any pleasant sensation begin to spread,

Spread to different parts of the body.

Maybe sending that energy to anywhere that needs a little bit of extra care and attention,

Offering the safety,

The softening to any part of you that needs it.

And as you do this,

You may notice your body responding.

You might be yawning or sighing as your nervous system begins to respond to this practice.

When we introduce this feeling of safety,

Our body starts to respond by releasing,

Shifting energy,

Slowing down.

So noticing what your experience is with that.

And remembering that there is no right or wrong here.

And if you don't feel much of anything,

That's okay.

Bring that awareness back to the safe anchor.

And trust that with practice,

That attunement becomes easier over time,

Allowing your whole being and your body to be supported.

Supported by the surface beneath you,

The earth beneath you.

Supported by this anchor,

Maybe any other anchors in your life.

And taking a moment to observe any shifts,

Any changes that you may have experienced since the beginning of this practice.

Maybe you can note quite easily anything that has changed or softened.

And bringing that awareness once more to the support beneath you.

Feeling the weight of your body resting in this space.

Drawing that awareness to the space that you are in.

And how much space your body occupies in this space.

And in your own time,

Whenever you're ready,

Slowly,

Gently opening the eyes.

And once again,

Moving the eyes slowly,

Moving the gaze slowly around the room,

Noticing,

Observing as you return to this present moment.

And take as much time as you need here to rest in what you have experienced and created before moving on to the next thing,

The next part of your day.

I encourage you to return to this meditation often or as many times as you need to help support you in attuning to the felt sense of safety in your body.

Reviews

This was a great meditation. I really need to teach my body to feel safe and content. This session did the job. Excellent track. Thank you so much ☺️

Thank you Kirsty for this wonderful guided practice. I was surprised by the memory that automatically came up as you were describing what an anchor feels. It was about 30 years ago with my then boyfriend who is now my husband. We used to lie down and I would rest on his chest. We would breathe quietly. It felt like heaven and I don’t think I had ever felt that in the past. So safe and able to fully let go. I used this as my anchor and my body remembered! I have never felt such a letting go since. Unfortunately we stopped doing this over the years. We could start it again.. although it no longer feels like the same. but I am already so glad to know that just the memory is a very good anchor! I will keep practicing. My head and neck have such a hard time to let go of the tensions.. and I felt a really nice softening during the practice. Love and gratitude from Canada 🍁.

My spirit guide continues to visit me as a red tailed hawk and this practice is helping me embody his wisdom!

Outstanding guidance—skillful, beautifully paced, just wonderful. Thank you so much!

I sank into the most deeply calm state during this. Your voice & guidance is wonderful 🙏 ✨️

Really lovely grounding practice 🙏

I enjoyed it thank you. I fell asleep so I’ll listen again!

Soothing and calming. The perfect length. Thank you!

Wow that was so helpful for my nervous system. Thank you Kristy. I will absolutely take this practice with me.

Very comforting and helpful. I’ll save this meditation for frequent use. Thank you so much, Kirsty 🙏🏻💚.

Very helpful and gentle meditation. I really enjoyed it. Thank you! 🙏🏼

A beautiful experience that put me in touch with happiness, wonder, possibility and aliveness. This is a meditation that I will come back to when I want to find the well of peace and joy that exists within me.

Your meditations are my favorite! This one has been so helpful in finding safety again after trauma. Thank you!

Thank you Kirsty I found those this meditation to be very gentle, nurturing and supportive. I relaxed so.muvb I nearly feel asleep

Thank you.
Namaste 🙏 🌟 💖