Safe to Move – Daily Cue Card

A gentle reminder that your body is not the enemy.

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🔹 Purpose: To help patients reframe movement as exploration, not risk. This card offers a quick, calming sequence they can use before or during activity to check in with their system and reduce fear-based tension.

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🔹 Why This Matters: When fear hijacks movement, even simple tasks can feel threatening. But the nervous system learns through experience—especially when it’s paired with safety. This tool creates a quick, repeatable ritual that shifts focus from pain to possibility, reminding patients they have agency, not just instructions.

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🌀 How to Use:

Keep it somewhere visible: mirror, phone, fridge, or in your movement journal. Use it before walking, stretching, lifting, or returning to a feared activity.

🚶 The Safe to Move Sequence (Takes 30–60 seconds):

🧘 1. Breathe In, Breathe Out

“This moment is not an emergency.”

▫️ Take 2–3 slow breaths

▫️ Drop your shoulders

▫️ Feel your feet on the ground

🧘 2. Ask Your Body a Question

“Does this feel safe enough to try?”

▫️ Not pain-free, just safe enough

▫️ You can always pause or adjust

▫️ Curiosity over perfection

🧘 3. Choose a Movement with Intention

“I’m not testing—I’m exploring.”

▫️ Begin slowly

▫️ Don’t force range or reps

▫️ Let the system settle into the movement

🧘 4. Reflect After

“What did I learn?”

▫️ Less tension? More ease? No change? That’s data.

▫️ Your system noticed you moved without panic.

▫️ Celebrate the act—not the outcome.

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🧠 Optional Daily Affirmation:

“Today, I moved with trust—not fear.

That’s a win.”

This resource is part of The Wondering Clinician Toolkit. It’s not medical advice—just a tool to support learning, reflection, and healing. Always consult your clinician when needed.