Feeling Safe & Standing Strong
Feeling tense, reactive, overwhelmed, or like you’re carrying more than you need to? Feeling Safe Standing Strong is about the small things that can help us feel safer, steadier and more able to navigate the messy business of being human.
If you’re looking for practical, plain English ways to understand your nervous system, have kinder and clearer conversations with yourself and others, and feel a little more settled in your own skin, you’re in the right place.
Each episode brings together body-based practices, real conversations and simple frameworks you can actually use in the moments that matter. At work. At home. In relationships. When a conversation gets hard. When the day gets heavy. Or in those quiet moments when you simply need to come back to yourself.
No jargon. No pressure. Nothing that requires a psychology degree to understand.
These aren’t tools you have to master. They’re small things to notice, practise and return to. And the more familiar they become, the more likely they are to show up when you need them.
Hosted by Bronwyn Clee, Trauma Responsive Psychosocial Coach and Educator and Co-Founder of The Institute of Hope, in partnership with Protective Behaviours International.
Full transcripts available.
Take what helps. Leave what doesn’t. And come back whenever you need.
Feeling Safe & Standing Strong
Episode 4: Safety in Connection
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Safety doesn’t just live inside us; it grows when we feel connected to others. In this episode, we explore how relationships can either build or erode our sense of safety, and why noticing subtle cues in ourselves and others helps us respond with care and respect.
We’ll touch on how the nervous system is wired for connection (sometimes called co-regulation in Polyvagal Theory), which simply means the calming effect we have on each other. Just like babies settle when held, adults also feel safer when they’re with people who are calm and caring.
Somatic Practices in this episode: **Somatic practices are simple ways of listening to and supporting our body so that we can respond with more clarity and care.
🫂 Mirrored Breathing: breathing in sync with another person (either face to face or visualised) to feel more connected.
👀 Soft Eyes: gently softening your gaze to release tension and invite calm.
(You’ll be guided through these practices in the episode. If you’re listening alone, you could adapt them when at your desk or walking.)
By the end of this conversation, you’ll understand more about how safety is built in relationships and have two simple practices to experience steadiness and connection with others.
✨ Feeling Safe Standing Strong is brought to you by The Institute of Hope (IOH) in collaboration with Protective Behaviours International (PBI).
🌏 I have the privilege of living, loving, learning, and creating on Larrakia Country and I pay my respects to Elders past, present, and emerging.
🔗 Find out more at www.theinstituteofhope.com.au or www.protectivebehavioursinternational.net
