Self Soothing for Anxiety

Vasavi opens by saying that inside everyone is an inner child who wants to feel safe, accepted, loved, held, respected, cherished, heard and seen. As you breathe and scan your body, you act as the caring presence for that part of you. The words you offer are the ones a child would need to hear.

After scanning from head, face and neck down through shoulders, torso, hips, thighs, calves and feet, you breathe into any tight spot. You then say: I'm here. You have nothing to worry about. You are safe with me. Later she adds, no matter what you're scared of, I am here to protect you.

It is a gentle check for when your mind has drifted into the past or the future. You are invited to come back to the sound of her voice, the feeling of your body and your breath. Being here is what lets the sense of safety settle.

The meditation says you can access this feeling any time you feel anxious, because the peace within you has always lived there. You can remember the breath, the sense of being held, and the line you are safe. Trust that you can always return to this place.

It brings you back gradually rather than all at once. You curl your toes, breathe into ankles, calves, knees, hips and belly, rock your legs and head side to side, then stretch your arms and legs in a full body stretch. It closes with: I am safe. I am calm. I am relaxed.