I have made a video of the 4 elements – a relaxation technique that is super easy to remember and to use. It was published as part of Elan Shapiro & Brurit Laub’s EMDR for recent traumatic events intervention is the main stress-reduction exercise, but it works well in lots of other situations. You can take your time with it or run through it relatively quickly in order to ground yourself.
You might find that different parts work better for you at different times, and that the more you practice it, the easier it becomes.
There’s 4 stages, working from the ground upwards –
EARTH – grounding and checking in with the here-and-now
AIR – noticing your breath and using your favourite breathing exercise
WATER – focussing on producing more saliva to help the body switch to its relaxed (parasympathetic) mode
FIRE – firing up your imagination to go to an imaginary safe or neutral place
In the video, I guide us through the four stages – practice this as much as you need until you no longer need prompting to do the exercise!
