Where does a true, deep sense of inner safety come from?  How do we recognise safety in ourselves and our environment? And how can that sense of safety be undermined?  Somatic Experiencing Practitioner, Sarah Schlote, explains how our deepest selves find balance. Recent advances in neuroscience have shed light on those things that are most precious to us  - a sense of equanimity and inner safety, of balance, and of the capacity to relate in ways that leave us feeling nourished.  All of these stem from early patterning and recognising the times we're off balance can help us to find how best to resource ourselves. In this deep dive into the neurophysiology of poly-vagal theory, Sarah Schlote, director of the Healing Refuge in Canada, and of Equusoma, the centre for Horse-Human recovery, relays in lyrical, human terms, the ways to healing that arise from an understanding of how we recognise safety, danger and life-threat.  This is part 1 of a 2 part series.  In the second part, we'll explore the routes to rebalancing and the implications to our sense of wellbeing that arise out of lockdown. The Healing Refuge is here: https://healingrefuge.comEquusoma is here: https://equusoma.comStephen Porges' Polyvagal theory here:  https://www.stephenporges.com