Prioritize Safety in the Body
Establishing safety in the body not only regulates the nervous system, but teaches you how to protect your energy.
How often do you assess your body to see if it truly feels safe?
When I moved to Mexico 4 years ago, I was excited for the change. At first, it felt like a vacation, but then the reality of it set in. I would need to find a school for my kids, make new friends, learn a new language, navigate a lot more traffic, and get to know these new surroundings.
Those were just the main things. I didn't realize how much "change" my body would need to process, from how much more difficult it became for me to simply order food over the phone, to adjusting to the culture and ways of being, in contrast to how I was used to living.
What started as fun soon became incredibly uncomfortable, as I furiously searched for resources to support me while navigating a language barrier and new cultural norms. Not to mention the pain of being so far away from my family back home. Seeing everyone here out with their families having big gatherings, and feeling that something was missing. Since family is something I truly value, this part was very hard for me.
I didn't realize that this discomfort was causing so much havoc on my body and my mental state. My nervous system had shifted into survival mode, and I was no longer excited about living in Mexico— I was simply surviving it.
Even though the landscape, the culture, the food, and the endless sun were beautiful, I couldn't enjoy or appreciate them. I felt like a dark cloud was looming over me, and I started to feel angry.
I started to identify with this personality: "Oh, this is just who I am, I am an anxious person, I have anxiety." I would brush it off and laugh about it, as if it were no big deal, then go on to keep surviving.
Inside, I was depressed and overwhelmed. Inside, I was raging. I began looking for evidence to justify my anger and discomfort. I began developing unhelpful thoughts that only reinforced the beliefs I began to develop. I convinced myself I was trapped, settling, and stuck.
It impacted every part of my life, including my marriage.
It wasn't until last year that I made the connection: I was living in a chronic state of fight or flight, and this wasn't normal.
My body didn't feel safe. Even though I was perfectly safe, my body didn't believe it. So no matter how much I tried to think my way through healing... nothing was working.
When I finally started slowing down, noticing what my body needed, and consciously creating safety in my body and environment, I finally began to feel myself relax, and the clarity started to come in.
Today, we'll talk about how safety must occur first, before healing can take place, and how this must happen first in the nervous system. Regulating the nervous system and priming for safety is the first step before we can reprogram the subconscious and establish a new energetic identity.
Survival Mode is Not Your Natural State: It's a Response
As I stated above, for a long time, I simply thought that I was an anxious person. I didn't make the connection that the move to Mexico had triggered a fight-or-flight response, or a stress cycle that I never took the time to close.
My nervous system was just doing exactly what it’s wired to do: protect me.
I wasn’t “too sensitive. I wasn’t “being ungrateful.”
I was in survival mode — and I didn’t know it.
What began as an exciting life change slowly turned into a season of chronic overstimulation, loneliness, and subtle (but very real) dysregulation. My body didn’t feel safe, even though I technically was safe.
And no amount of positive thinking or mindset work could override that.
Survival mode is NOT a flaw. It is your body's way of protecting you, the best way it knows how.
But if we stay in survival mode for too long, it begins to rob us of joy, pleasure, and zest for life. I know, because that was me.
The first step out?
Not fixing. Not forcing. Not plant medicine, or visits to the shaman.
It’s pausing, tuning in, and signaling to the body that it's safe. Through breathwork and somatic exercises, I was able to slowly bring myself back to a regulated state that lasts. When I am triggered now, I can quickly re-regulate.
The medicine you need... It's within YOU. Your unique healing abilities will reveal themselves when you finally slow down to listen and communicate to the body: "I am safe."
This work takes time, but it is worth it. I cannot explain the level of freedom I feel now in my body.
Tiny Ways to Signal Safety in the Body
You don’t need a big ritual or a perfect routine to regulate your nervous system.
Sometimes the most powerful shifts for me come from the simplest moments, and I prioritize catching these moments now.
Here are a few ways I reconnect when I start to feel off-center:
Longer Inhales and Exhales:
When I am sitting, walking, or just doing the laundry or dishes, I'll focus on making each inhale and exhale longer. I allow my belly to expand slowly, like a balloon, allow it to completely deflate, and then pause before my next inhale.
You'll be amazed at how these pauses create space in your day.
Park and Breathe:
When I am busy running errands, I'll stop when I park my car just to take even a minute to focus on the style of breathing above. I do it before I get out of my car and after I get back in it.
Making Daily Tasks Mindful:
Consciously set an intention to do your tasks mindfully. Now, when I do my dishes, for example, I choose not to fill that time with podcasts or lessons or more information. Now, I set an intention to open my senses and just notice the sounds around me, or the thoughts that arise.
Soft Touch:
How often do you touch your face? Massage your temples? Trace your lips? Hug yourself? Brush down your arms, stroke your thighs? Your fingertips hold an immense amount of nerve endings, and your unique healing frequency radiates from them. Use them to signal to your body that it is safe.
Calm Your Body -- > Meditation to Balance Emotions
Calm yourself when you feel worried, stressed, angry, or out of control. This meditation will immediately soothe you, restore emotional balance, and balance the functional centers of the brain. Take a moment to pause and allow yourself to reset and relax into the emotions you are experiencing so that they can transform into clarity and solutions.
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