Calm Place Exercise

The Calm Place Exercise can be a helpful way to shift from stress to calm. It takes advantage of the fact that whatever fills your mind will influence your emotions and  body. When you have upsetting thoughts in your mind, you will have upsetting emotions and body sensations. When you want to experience a sense of calm, you can intentionally fill your mind with something that makes you feel relaxed. This exercise involves picking a place in the world where you would feel calm and safe. You will then use guided imagery to visualize the details you would see, hear, touch, smell, and taste in that place. The more you get immersed in the details, the more you will feel your brain and body start to relax. Some people choose a beach, forest, mountaintop, lake, a place they vacationed to, a place from their childhood, a place they saw in a movie, or many other places. Take a moment to think of what that place is for you and then give the exercise a try!

The Calm Place Exercise

In order to do the Calm Place Exercise, first find a comfortable place to sit or lie down. Close your eyes and start taking slow, deep breaths for about 15-30 seconds. Focus on how your breath feels. Then, take as much time as you need to bring to mind all of the details you would see in this place. Really take some time to notice those things as you imagine yourself being there. Then, start to imagine the things you would hear in that place. Try to tune into the details of what those things would sound like. Then, start to imagine anything you might physically feel in that place (like the temperature, the wind, what your feet and body are touching, clothes on your skin, etc.).  See if you can sense those physical feelings. Then, start to think of anything you would smell in that place and really try to imagine it. Then, if you would be eating or drinking in that place, imagine what those might taste like. Spend time continuing to take slow breaths while you immerse yourself in those details. Now, if you were to pick a word or phrase that would fit that experience for you and represent it, what would it be? Once you have that, go ahead and notice your imagine of that place, along with what it is like to be there. Then, pair it with your word or phrase. As you fuse those things together, continue to notice the details of your calm place while you take slow breaths. Spend as much time as you would like and notice your emotions and body start to relax. When you are ready, you can slowly let that imagery fade into the background of your mind, slowly open your eyes and come back to noticing what is around you.

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Calm Place Exercise Guided Video