Aly Burt, RN runs the Safe and Sound Protocol at the Leading Edge Clinic. She can be found on social media at Uprooted Healing:
What was life like for you before the pandemic?
I was a thriving active 32 year old working as a nurse. I was dancing, rock climbing, hiking, backpacking, skiing. I was spontaneous, fun, and social. I laughed all the time. I was laid back but strong. I’d gone through a lot in my life, but always learned how to make each downfall a season and continue forward in finding happiness.
How did things change?
When I got vaxxed my life flipped upside down. It started with respiratory issues that worsened no matter what I tried. Then I was having heart palpitations, tachycardia, high blood pressure, dizziness, vertigo, confusion, headaches, heat and cold intolerances. And then I started not being able to walk on my own. I got really depressed and anxious. I thought I was dying. I lost a lot of friends and felt incredibly alone. My fiancé stood by my side and this has been hard on him as well. I eventually couldn’t work and he had to work 2-3 jobs to keep us afloat. I stopped being that fun, loving, happy girl and I felt like I was a burden to everyone around me. I was also developing some sensory issues. I think I’ve always had a sensory processing problem on a mild level, just in relation to ADHD. But when I got vaxxed, my mild sensory feelings went to an entirely new level. One I couldn’t manage. I used to be cuddly and affectionate and I started hating to be touched. Even a hand on the shoulder would send fire through my body. Any loud noise would put me into fight or flight for days it seemed. My anxiety would snowball and I would often feel like I couldn’t control it. I would change my clothes multiple times a day.
On top of all of that, I couldn’t regulate my temperature. I would wake up soaked from night sweats and then would be freezing because I was wet. Then I’d take a hot shower and then would flush all over and feel like I was overheating so then I’d get out and stick my head in the freezer and feel like I was still really hot. It was a constant battle to regulate my temperature. Restricted clothing started to bother me. Certain textures. Wool sweaters. Forget about it. No chance I’d survive wearing that. It would bother me sensory wise but would also shoot pain throughout my body. I don’t know how to explain it. I was irritable and would have anger outbursts which was out of character for me. I felt like a completely different person. I understand now how dysregulated my nervous system was.
What have you learned about yourself in the process?
So much. I’ve learned how strong I am. I learned that it’s ok to find out who your friends are when you’re going through it. I learned how to constantly mourn. You have to constantly live in that state because it isn’t something that’s in the past. Sometimes I’m in denial and I think I can eat bad food and drink alcohol and then I don’t respond well and I get angry that I’m dealing with this. Then cry and get depressed and kind of get some of that emotion out and then I can accept it. And make the most of the situation. And then I’ll have a bad flare day and the whole cycle repeats itself in various ways. I’ve learned to say no when it’s in my best interest. I’ve also learned what I can’t do and how to live with that. I can’t do anything physical. I can’t go to social events like I used to. If I do, I generally have to rest the entire day before and think through everything. Anticipate what might happen so I’m prepared if my body doesn’t respond right. As of right now I can’t have my own babies. That’s been one of the toughest pieces of all of this. I’ve always wanted to be a mom and it’s not looking good. But on the flip side I’ve learned how to get back up quickly, how to take punches and let them roll off. I’ve built a new kind of confidence and learned about a whole new world of healthcare I didn’t even know existed. The truth of healthcare I should say. I’m a lot easier to please. The small things make me happy now. I’ve learned to be grateful even when I feel low and like I’ve lost everything. But also that it’s ok to be angry and sad about it as well. And I’ve learned how to regulate my emotions. I’ve opened up an entirely new and beautiful page of my life by learning about the nervous system and doing the Safe and Sound Protocol.
What do you do now?
I run the Safe and Sound Protocol at Leading Edge Clinic. Healing with this program is unlike anything I’ve done so far on my recovery journey. It doesn’t feel like another pill you have to stare at and hate and then force yourself to take it. It’s being kind to your body, understanding it, and learning to love it again. It’s rebuilding a relationship with yourself. The new you. The old you is still there. She might be hiding but she’s there. And she learns to accept that new form of you that you now live with. The part of you that’s sick can grab the hand of the strong part of you and balance. Music is healing in and of itself. That to me is worth every penny. But you’re not just listening to music. You’re listening to filtered middle frequency music. The sounds we naturally need to hear to regulate our nervous system. You learn exercises to reset your vagus nerve. This can help with digestive issues since your vagus nerve is responsible for rest and digest. It can help lower your heart rate, decrease headaches, dizziness, anxiety, sensory issues. It sounds a little out there to some people. But it really isn’t. It’s using what your body already has, reminding it how to balance with the middle frequencies and then regulating on its own. There’s no device you have to wear. Having these tools not only helps you right now with your current symptoms, but also gives you what you need to prepare for more to come if needed. Obviously we need to stay hopeful and we are trending in the right direction. Hopefully we won’t have more health issues happen. But the truth is those of us that are vaccine injured or have long haul have dealt with a tremendous amount of trauma. Physical and emotional. And it’s not something that just goes away. Your body holds onto that trauma whether we like it or not. So addressing it and giving your body what it needs to release that will help you for the rest of your life. It also gives you a piece of control. So much has been taken from us so being able to control your nervous system is a superpower and having that kind of knowledge, along with the music, gives you some control back. And that’s worth a lot for me.
Can you tell us about the Safe and Sound Protocol? How did it originate? What are some of the principles behind it? What does it look like practically speaking?
Dr. Stephen Porges is the founder of the Safe and Sound Protocol. He basically was trying to access the vagus nerve by using surgical implants or devices to kind of reach the vagus nerve with stimulation. Over time, he realized that the nervous system actually responds to social cues, so, what if we take a non-invasive approach to this and use what our body already has known and see how it responds? I think originally he was trying to develop the program to help patients with autism and then it turned into patients in general who have sensory issues or trauma. The principles behind the Safe and Sound Protocol are to help with emotional regulation, enhance social engagement, and reduce auditory sensitivities. You’re ultimately using middle frequency sounds to give your body repeated cues of safety. Reteaching your body that it’s safe.
Why can’t I just do it by myself?
It’s important to have someone that is trained to be able to guide you through the filtered music. I have to pay attention to body language, know what exercise to do when, how to help patients navigate through obstacles and titrate up at the right time. I’ve been trained and have struggled doing it on my own because I can’t see how I’m responding. You also need co-regulation. Having that is a crucial part to success. Which basically means you’re doing the listening therapy in a safe environment with someone that feels safe that is supporting you and helping you. It gives your body another cue of safety that you can’t necessarily give yourself.
How much does it cost? How does that compare to other providers? Why would you say it’s worth the price?
The cost is normally around $4,000 in other clinics. We are charging $1,250. There are roughly 15 sessions that go into this program. I do think it’s worth the price. I wouldn’t be doing this program if I didn’t think there was benefit to it. Being vaccine injured myself, I’ve spent a lot of money on my care over the years and it doesn’t always work right for your body. As we know, everybody’s different so I’m usually pretty reluctant to do something new unless it’s worthwhile. And addressing my nervous system was what I felt like the next step should be in order for my body to continue to heal. In my opinion, your body needs to be able to have some level of homeostasis in order for those next steps of healing to happen. But we can’t just automatically tell our body to do that. We can’t think our way to safety. We have to go through a process to get there.
Here is an example that I’ve used in the past. Think of an ice cube. Originally it was in water form and someone took it and put it into an ice mold and put it in the freezer. It’s now in the freeze state. In order to get out of that freeze state, you have to take the ice mold out of the freezer and let it melt until it becomes water again. The ice cube can’t grow legs and get itself out of the freezer to get to that state. It has to be helped. If you look at our bodies, you know we’re meant to be in homeostasis and have a regulated nervous system. But then somebody comes along with the vaccine or Covid ( or any trauma ) and essentially put you into that freeze mode. In order to get your body out of that mode, you have to go through a process and be given queues of safety ( filtered middle frequencies ). And then your body can begin to melt and get you back to being regulated. And it does take time. When an ice cube is melting, it’s in a weird in between state of being part frozen and part melted swirling around and not quite to the state it’s intended to be. It’s the same with our body. You have to give your body the space and time to be able to get to that place of regulation and to feel safe again.
What is your vision for doing this work into the future?
I would love to see all of our patients take a giant step forward in their healing journey by doing this program and be able to guide other people to healing. I would love to see this as a mass movement in humanity. That we all understand our nervous system and normalize regulating it. Help each other get there, that the common goal is to be regulated. I think it would drastically reduce anxiety and depression in this country. I would love to do this for kids one day too. I think it is helpful for kids- especially the ones who have received pediatric vaccines. The Safe and Sound company also has a ‘focus program’ and I’d be really interested to see if that program helps with brain fog and I would love to dabble into that in the future.
What advice do you have for people who are considering SSP but may not be able to afford it at the moment?
My advice would be to try to save up if you can because it’s crucial for healing your body. When the nervous system is disregulated, it puts a road block up in allowing your body to fully heal. If you don’t address it, you’re not going to reach your goals. In the meantime, while you are saving, there are exercises that you can do that can be really helpful. I do a lot of exercises on my social media if you want to follow me! Please follow me actually, because I think I’m getting shadow banned because I talk about my vaccine injury lol. It’s called Uprooted Healing: @ uprooted_healing on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. I don’t love TikTok, but it’s easier to reach people and my goal is to educate people about safe and sound, but also about vaccine injuries. I think there’s still a lot of people out there that don’t realize their health issues are related to the Covid vaccine or Covid in general. I also talk about different ways I’ve removed toxins from my life, different recipes, mocktails, etc. But anyways, there’s so much more that goes into regulating your nervous system than just doing those exercises. It’s a good start, but you have to have those filtered middle frequencies in order to really heal. The music therapy is what you’re paying for. That’s not something that you can get anywhere else. It’s a one-of-a-kind program. But in the time that you’re saving up to be able to do it, I would start doing some of the exercises that I have on my social media. I also would recommend reading a book called Accessing The Healing Power of the Vagus Nerve by Stanley Rosenberg. I think if you have a lot of questions around what this program is that book would be really helpful.
Safe and Sound Protocol (SSP)