Safe-to-Play Movement Progression

Rebuild confidence through curiosity, not caution.

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🔹 Purpose: To help clinicians guide patients from guarded or fearful movement back to freedom, variability, and self-trust—without relying on rigid protocols.

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🔹 Why This Matters: Fear shrinks movement—and with it, confidence, identity, and freedom. This tool reframes movement not as a test of correctness, but as a nervous system conversation. When we shift from caution to curiosity, we help patients rebuild trust one playful rep at a time.

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🔸 1. Start with Safety

“Let’s find what you can do without fear.”

▫️ Begin with non-threatening, comfortable motions.

▫️ Emphasize breath, slowness, and permission to stop.

▫️ Ask: “Can we make this feel safe—not perfect?”

🔸 2. Add Novelty

“Let’s try it a little differently.”

▫️ Introduce variation: speed, direction, rhythm, posture.

▫️ Use language like: “What if we tried it this way?”

▫️ Encourage curiosity: “Does that feel the same or different?”

🔸 3. Invite Play

“Let’s stop measuring and start exploring.”

▫️ Add asymmetry, challenge, or improvisation.

▫️ Examples: tossing a ball while squatting, moving with music, low-stakes games.

▫️ Encourage laughter, spontaneity, and joy in movement.

🔸 4. Connect to Life

“Let’s make this about your world.”

▫️ Reintegrate the movements into meaningful activities: gardening, lifting a child, walking outdoors.

▫️ Ask: “What do you want to get back to doing—and how can this help?”

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✅ Clinician Prompts to Use Throughout:

▫️ “What are you noticing right now?”

▫️ “What if this didn’t have to be perfect?”

▫️ “Does this feel like something your system is okay with?”

▫️ “If it feels safe to try, let’s explore.”

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✅ Optional Add-On: Movement Journaling

Patients can track:

▫️ Movements they avoided vs. attempted

▫️ How they felt during/after

▫️ One word to describe the experience

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🧠 Final Thought:

You don’t need perfect form to move forward. What matters is that it feels safe enough to try, meaningful enough to matter, and curious enough to keep going.

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.