Staying Safe in Your Body

Working with me, you’ll hear me talk about feeling ‘safe in your body’.

Basically to say, ‘Will bringing your attention to the sensations in your body at this moment cause you harm?’

I viscerally understood this concept during a 10-day silent meditation retreat I attended. A course that requires a vow of silence as you learn the practice of tuning into yourself. Each day required 10 hours of meditation. There is no physical contact, no eye-contact with others, no books, no writing, phones, or any other devices that might distract you from your practice.

It can be such a powerful invitation for you to become fully attentive to whatever might be emerging or calling within you. It’s where I learned I severely underestimated what I’m capable of doing. But after 2 days of practice, I noticed behaviors I was falling into. I’d diligently attend inch to inch from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, but every time I came to certain areas of my body.. I’d bypass them. Like water trickling over a glassy barrier.

It became clear to me that these areas held memory still raw, and staying there was emotionally volatile and physically painful. Staying in these parts of my body for so long without the guidance of someone wasn’t merely uncomfortable, it was unsafe. And bypassing them was how I armed myself enough to tolerate the moment.

Any one of us could feel unsafe in our body for multiple reasons, known or unknown to us.

From birth trauma, surgery, illness, eating disorders, racism, emotional abuse, bullying, being held against your will to a car accident, any one of us could feel unsafe in our body for multiple reasons, known or unknown to us. And not all mindfulness teachers are equipped to deal with the harms that could surface within a participant during practice.

So, I’ve learned to incorporate options that would invite participants to make their own choices about what would make staying still in the moment a more beneficial experience.

Here are 10 techniques I incorporate for a safer grounding and mindfulness experience:

1. Discussing boundaries at the start of a session, and often after that. Where can we push against (discomfort) and where is a no-go zone (unsafe).

2. Offering participants to pull out of an activity to respect their boundaries, or to go about the activity differently. 

3. Using external senses for grounding rather than relying on the breath and internal senses. Such as feeling our feet on ground, a pebble in our hand or observing an object in the room.

4. Being flexible with the participant’s posture and allowing them to alternate between standing, lying on their back or on their side, rather than always being seated. Especially with telehealth sessions.

5. Spending time to know the sounds, smells, colours, textures that could be triggers for the participant.

6. Inviting participants to bring drinks and snacks to nourish them during sessions.

7. Offering participants the option to have their eyes open and looking downward, rather than fully closed.

8. Offering mindfulness activities that don’t involve sitting still, such as walking around the space.

9. Checking with participants if there are textures of materials provided that might be triggering for them.

10. Inviting participants to sit where they wish, e.g. Facing the door.
    

What would make mindfulness a safer practice for you?

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