Welcome.
This practice is for moments when the nervous system is sounding an alarm around health.
Thoughts are real.
They can feel powerful and urgent.
But urgency is often a sign of the alarm not a sign that something needs to be solved right now You may notice the pull to check,
To scan,
To search,
Compare,
Or seek reassurance.
And even when reassurance helps in the moment,
The alarm may return again.
This is not because you're doing something wrong.
It's because the nervous system is trying to protect you,
Even though there's no immediate danger.
I know this pattern.
I know it well because I've been where you are.
I know what it's like when the nervous system begins to interpret body signals as danger signals.
And I also know that the nervous system can be retrained.
The alarm is trying to help.
It's trying to protect you.
But sometimes,
And oftentimes,
With health anxiety,
It goes off when it doesn't need to.
There's a phrase that can be helpful here.
Thoughts are real,
But they are not necessarily true.
The thought feels real.
The urgency feels real.
But the message may not be accurate.
It may be,
And often is,
The nervous system sounding a danger alarm when there's no immediate danger.
So in this practice,
We are not arguing with the alarm.
We're not trying to force certainty.
We are practicing sending messages of safety back to the nervous system,
Right here,
In the moment.
Because when the nervous system is screaming,
Danger,
Danger,
Danger.
We can gently counterbalance that message with signals of safety and steadiness.
So as you're ready.
Beginning by finding a position that feels comfortable and supportive.
You might notice the feel of the chair or the bed or the ground beneath you.
Noticing your hands resting where they are.
Just sensing into the feeling of gravity holding your body where it is.
And if it's comfortable to focus on the breath.
You might take a nice deep,
Slow breath in.
And allow the exhale to be a little longer as you breathe out.
Again,
Breathing in.
And slowly breathing out.
Not forcing the breath,
Just allowing the body to receive a signal that in this moment You are here and you are safe.
And when we slow the breathing down,
It sends that signal of safety,
A counterbalance to that danger signal.
That gets so loud.
And so continuing to slow your breathing down.
And if your mind says,
What if,
Or I need to check.
Notice if you can name that.
Name it for what it is,
Which is,
This is the alarm,
This is my nervous system trying to protect me.
The feeling is real.
But it's likely not a true danger.
And as you're ready,
Allowing your attention to return to the support beneath you.
Noticing the feet.
The hand,
The steadiness of the surface holding you.
You may quietly say to yourself,
Right now I am safe enough to pause.
You might take another few deep breaths in with long extended out breath on the exhale.
Breath in.
Exhale,
Releasing.
Breathing in.
Exhale letting go allowing the jaw to soften.
Hands to release.
And if the urge to scan or check or even ask for reassurance shows up.
You don't have to fight it or push it away,
Just notice.
There's the checking loop.
There's the alarm again asking for certainty.
Just noticing and then gently return to support.
Notice the feet or the hands,
The breath.
The room around you.
You might even say,
Thank you,
Nervous system,
For doing the best that you can to try and protect me.
I noticed the alarm.
And I'm learning to respond differently.
You might take one more slow breath in.
And a longer breath out.
Practice is to pause to notice the alarm and return to safety again and again.
Each time your mind is drawn away by fear,
Anxiety,
Checking.
Hoping for reassurance.
Just come back to that signal of safety.
Sensing the feet on the floor.
Hands in your lap.
Noticing the breath.
Each time you practice,
Your nervous system is learning a new response.
And one that's grounded in more safety and more ease.
Thank you for your practice.
