Sensing Safety

A short guided practice designed to help reduce unnecessary and inappropriate stress response. Ideal for those who experience being in a state of "high alert" as habit rather than as a suitable response to a situation. Voice guided, with the gently audible relaxed heart rate of the narrator intentionally included.

Transcript

Welcome to Sensing Safety.

Thoughts and physical sensations that we experience when we feel safe are different to those experienced when we are on high alert.

Sometimes high alert and stress response are totally appropriate and very helpful.

But when they are an unuseful habit,

It may help to teach your body a different way to be.

Repeating this routine often may help to create a new habit of calm.

Begin by letting go of your breath.

Allow all the air to release from your lungs.

Helping to empty fully by tightening your tummy muscles as if you were trying to blow out the last few candles on a cake.

Now release any breath effort and observe your body breathe in.

Repeat.

Allow all the air to go out of your lungs.

Release the effort and allow the breath in.

Find where the tension is being held in your body and let it soften and dissolve.

Check your head,

Shoulders,

Neck,

Jaw and face,

Throat,

Spine,

Belly,

Arms and hands,

Buttocks,

Legs and feet.

Drop and let go.

Melt and release again.

And breathe.

Ask yourself now,

How would I feel if everything was okay?

How would it be in my body and mind if I knew that all was well?

How would it feel to know that I had nothing to worry about?

Just let yourself imagine for a moment how it would feel.

Perhaps light in your chest,

Calm in your belly,

Clear in your head.

Just imagining all is well.

Let your body and mind sense how that would be.

Is there a word that comes to mind that describes this feeling for you?

Stay with that if you can and now come back to your now and notice that in fact you are safe here now.

Note to yourself at this very moment,

I am actually safe going about my daily activities.

I am okay.

I can let my guard relax a little.

I am safe to be calm.

Return now to your day with my best wishes.

Reviews

Really helpful exercise simple and effective thank you

I tend to have anxiety, especially first thing in the morning. Your calm voice helped me to adopt a feeling of calm and safety. Thank you.

really lovely - short, well paced, straightforward. thank you!

I woulda liked it if it was 40 - 28- no 30 minutes long. It was good helpful. But this is something I can’t or feel or really know after yrs. Lots of yrs. of *****. I know what it ‘doesn’t feel like - safety. But knowing what it actually ‘does feel like very very very difficult. I trying

Just what I needed to hear this morning.
Thank you so much

Very helpful to remind myself that I am ok and that the world is not out to get me. Thank you!

Absolutely brilliant. Having CPTSD this really helped me feel calmer against my unconscious mental barriers. Thank you for this. Sometimes breath and intention is all we need 🤍🤍

This helped reground me quickly when my PTSD was triggered and staved off a full flashback episode. Very grateful to have my day restored to me, thank you.

Very helpful exercise for the times we find ourselves in. Thank you.

Everything is all right. I. Am. Safe.
Namaste 🙏💕💕

very helpful indeed! 🧡🙏

A useful practice for right now during the pandemic. And a good warm-up for a timed meditation. 🙏

Like this a lot - particularly about finding a word that makes you feel safe & using that to differentiate between “high-level alert” (aka normalcy for me) & “safe”.

Good one. Hoping for longer version maybe some affirmations. Or another one on same topic. Well done. I put this on repeat.

Really packs a profound mind shift release/relaxing for such a quick meditation

I love it. Thank you 🙏

Very effective short grounding and relaxing meditation. Useful for PTSD and anxiety-inducing situations. Just what I needed today.

Bookmarked, and I have since my first time listening to this recording already come back to this one again and again. It is one of my top "most played" recordings on IT.

I've even incorporated some of the phrases in this wonderful recording into my work with my EMDR therapist to help create a safe state. That way the safe state exercise and this recording complement and strengthen each other.

I use this often to start a meditation and have passed it along to friends. Thankyou!

Excellent!! I love all of your guided audios. Thank you 🙏

Thank you so much.