Fear about what’s going to happen in the future is worry. When we have a worry habit, we are constantly thinking in order to be ready for whatever might happen. This worry habit is running while we are asleep or awake, and for many of us our brain is scanning the environment for danger, and we call this state of being hypervigilance.
To break free of this worry habit, to interrupt hypervigilance, we must get to know and trust our SAFE STATE. To truly feel safe when we are safe is much harder than it sounds. In the SAFE STATE meditation, we are paying attention to our body, and building trust that thinking is not necessary to be safe. Practice this meditation for 10-minutes each day to overcome the worry habit.
Find a quiet space where you will not be disturbed.
Start in a comfortable position. Sit so that your back is supported. Or if you prefer, lie down. Relax your body and make sure that no parts of your body or limbs are crossing.
To support your surrender to this moment, focus on your breathing.
Take a full deep breath in...now hold it...and exhale slowly. Repeat, deeply pulling air into your lungs…pause…then exhale as slowly as you can.
This next breath, notice your belly rise...then pause…and notice your belly fall with the exhale.
Good.
Would it be ok to feel safe? To acknowledge that you are safe at this moment?
Are you able to say to yourself “nothing bad is happening” at this moment?
If not able, then ask: What’s keeping you from being able to relax right now? What do you need at this moment to trust that nothing bad is happening? Work with your therapist to truly solve this block. It is invisible but real.
Once you are able to say to yourself “nothing bad is happening at this moment,” repeat this statement 5 times. After each time, take a deep breath, and exhale very slowly.
Now, notice where in your body do you feel tension? Because you feel safe at this moment, try to release any tension you discover on purpose. As you locate any area that is tense, take a deep breath and exhale very slowly, letting the tension go with the exhale. Allow SAFE STATE to be true for you at this moment.
Good.
Scan your body again. Do you feel any tension? Because you feel safe at this moment, try to release any tension you discover on purpose. As you locate any area that is tense, take a deep breath and exhale very slowly, letting the tension go with the exhale. Allow SAFE STATE to be true for you at this moment.
Your body already knows what to do, so it’s ok to trust your body as it relaxes. As you relax, and continue to deeply connect to this moment of being safe, notice how SAFE STATE feels. Just notice, with curiosity, how your body feels.
As you focus on what you are feeling now, what word describes how you feel? _________
Hold that word in your heart. This word will guide you back to SAFE STATE whenever you focus on the pleasant sensations in your body right now. Take a deep breath, and repeat the word to yourself 5 times. After each time, take a deep breath, and exhale very slowly.
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