Come Back To Safety | A 5-Minute Nervous System Reset

When you feel overwhelmed, restless, or tired but unable to truly rest, your nervous system may be stuck in a state of alert.

This short, evidence-based guided meditation is designed to help your nervous system gently shift out of stress and back toward safety.

In this 5-minute practice, we use:
• Slow, extended-exhale breathing shown to calm the stress response
• Gentle body awareness to support regulation without forcing relaxation
• Visual orientation to help the brain register safety in the present moment

There’s nothing to fix and nothing to achieve.
This practice is about noticing, allowing, and letting your body do what it already knows how to do.

You can return to this meditation anytime you need grounding, calm, or a sense of steadiness - especially during stress, burnout, or emotional overload.

Gentle, science-based, and supportive.

If this practice supports you, feel free to save it or return to it - repetition helps the nervous system learn safety.

Transcript

Welcome to guided meditation Come back to safety Let's begin by letting the body arrive There's nothing you need to change,

Nothing you need to achieve Just allowing yourself to be here If it feels ok,

Gently notice the support beneath you,

The chair the floor,

The surface holding your weight You don't need to relax,

Just notice that you are supported Now bring attention to your breathing without trying to control it yet Simply noticing where the breath is easiest to feel,

Maybe the chest the belly,

Or the gentle movement of air at the nose We will begin to guide the breath in a way that's been shown to calm the nervous system Inhale gently through the nose for 4,

And exhale slowly through the mouth for 6 Let the exhale be soft like you are slowly fogging a mirror We will do that again Inhale,

2,

3 4,

Exhale 2,

3,

4,

5,

6 Longer exhales tell the nervous system that it's safe to soften Now gently bring your attention to the body Notice the weight of your shoulders There's no need to drop them,

Just notice how they are being held Notice the jaw Is it clenched,

Or loose?

Or somewhere in between?

Whatever you find is ok This is awareness,

Not correction If it feels supportive,

Begin to notice any place in the body that feels neutral or even slightly ok It might be the hands,

The feet,

The back You are not searching for calm Just noticing what isn't demanding your attention Now gently open your awareness through your eyes,

Without moving your head Allow your gaze to softly scan the space around you Let the eyes move slowly predictably,

Without urgency Find one object that feels neutral or pleasant to look at Rest your eyes there Then,

When ready,

Allow the gaze to move again finding a second object and then a third This kind of slow visual orientation helps the brain register safety in the present moment As you breathe and look around your nervous system begins to update Right now,

I'm here,

And I'm safe enough You don't need to believe that Your body learns it through experience Return attention to the breath once more Inhale gently through the nose Exhale slowly through the mouth If thoughts come in that's normal,

You're not doing this wrong Each time you notice,

You're strengthening regulation Before we close,

Take a moment to notice if anything feels even 1% different More space,

More contact more ease even subtle shift count When you are ready,

Let the breath return to its natural rhythm and gently bring this sense of grounded presence with you into the rest of your day You can come back to this state whenever you need

Reviews

Really helpful guidance on the awareness, and particularly the visualisation of a slow foggy mirror. Thank you, a very grounding and calming practice that felt longer as it was so helpful.