The Safe Place You Carry With You
How grounding the body builds stability, confidence, and a sense of safety
What if safety isn’t something you have to find out in the world but something you can recognize inside yourself?
Earlier this week, in my evening workshop, we explored our internal sense of grounding and steadiness by first thinking of a place where we simply felt safe.
For some, it was at home, others deep in the forest, at the beach, with friends and family.
Then I asked them to locate the place in their body where they felt that quiet sense of connection, presence, and safety. The answers came quietly and with a lot of wisdom.
One person felt it low in her belly, in her Dan-tian, that steady center of gravity just below the navel. Another noticed it in her throat, a soft openness that felt calm and clear. Someone felt it right in the center of their chest. Another didn’t point to one spot at all but described the feeling of weight, the body settling, being held by the ground.
No one hesitated. No one second-guessed themselves.
That’s something I love about this Mind-Body Stress Reduction work. When we stop trying to think our way into safety, the body usually knows where to go.
This kind of safety isn’t about escaping what’s hard or pretending things aren’t stressful. It’s about recognizing that there’s a place inside us that’s steady enough to meet what’s happening. A place we can return to again and again, a safe haven.
I often teach a practice called standing grounded for people who speak for a living, lead, or walk into rooms that ask a lot of them. It’s not about powering up. It’s about letting the body do what it’s designed to do, to support us with a steady knowing that we are right now, in this moment, OK.
When we let our weight drop and feel the support beneath us, the body naturally aligns without stiffness, and something shifts. Strength shows up without force. Confidence becomes quieter and more reliable. Energy flows.
When we reconnect body and mind, stability isn’t something we have to create. It’s something we remember. Our safe place has been there all along.
Below are a few reflections and micro-practices you can try wherever you are. At home. At work. Out in the world. None of these requires special conditions or extra time. They’re small on purpose. Microdose by microdose, you can be more at home with yourself, knowing that safety always lies within.
1. Let safety be personal
Reflection
Your safe place doesn’t have to look like anyone else’s. You are unique.
Micro-practice
Pause and gently scan your body. Notice where there’s even a hint of ease or steadiness. It might be subtle. Rest your attention there for one slow count of five. How does that feel?
2. Remember the ground is always there
Reflection
The ground is dependable and stable. It doesn’t come and go. We just forget it in our rush to keep up.
Micro-practice
Whether sitting or standing, deliberately drop your weight downward. Feel the floor or chair supporting you. Let yourself reconnect with the sense of being held. Notice how that contact brings a quiet feeling of grounding and safety.
3. Find your inner anchor
Reflection
For some people, safety lives in the belly. For others, the heart, throat, or chest. These aren’t ideas. They’re physical experiences. Do you know where your safe haven lives?
Micro-practice
Place a hand over the area that feels most stable right now. Stay there for three natural breaths or a few heartbeats. No need to change anything.
4. Stand grounded before you step forward
Reflection
Confidence often comes from alignment, not effort.
Micro-practice
Stand with feet hip-width apart. Press down gently through both feet. Stack your posture so your head floats over your spine. Let your arms hang. Feel tall and heavy at the same time.
5. Make it portable
Reflection
Once you recognize your internal safe place, it becomes something you can carry with you.
Micro-practice
As you move through your day, check in briefly. Ask, Can I touch my safe place for one second? That’s often enough to remind the nervous system that you’re okay.
This isn’t about convincing yourself that everything is fine. It’s about remembering that you have an inner reference point that’s steady enough to lean on.
When we practice returning to our inner safe place, trust grows. Trust in the body. Trust in our capacity. Trust that we can stay present without bracing or shutting down.
You don’t have to feel confident to ground yourself. Just try it. Everything is a practice, and the action of grounding is often what allows confidence to show up.
After reading this far, what have you learned about your own inner safe haven?