Practices

Every practice in the library, in one list. Narrow it by how long you have, who it is written for, and where you are right now.

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610 practices

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Try locking your ankle and holding everything rigid while you balance. You will fall over. The wobble was doing the work.

People who are frightened of losing control often try to hold themselves regulated: clamped, monitoring, allowing no drift. It is exhausting and it…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 13:28One line of research

There are small signs that somebody has come back into connection: light in the eyes, a bit of music in the voice, a smile that arrives by itself.

They are easy to see once you know to look, and they are just as useful in reverse. If you are with someone difficult and your own voice has gone…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 23:78One line of research

Before you close your eyes for anything calming, spend a minute looking round the room. Let your eyes land wherever they want to.

Closing your eyes too early is one reason relaxation exercises backfire. If your body has not registered that the room is fine, going inward means…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 67:23One line of research

Breath does not always calm. For some people it opens the door to feeling, for others it puts a little distance in. Find out which it does for you today.

The instruction to breathe deeply gets handed out as though it settles everyone. Plenty of people find that attention to their breath brings the…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 7:205One line of research

Looking for a whole subject rather than a single practice? Start from the nine areas.

Feelings and focus

Growing empathy

Food, caffeine and fuel

Knowing your partner

What ADHD actually is

Exercise, food and other supports

Screens and attention

Moving your body

When everything feels flat

Repair after rupture

What you are actually defending

Breathing

Shame and stigma

Treatment and medication

Being seen and judged

Shared spiritual life

Getting assessed and diagnosed

Feeling from the inside

Question the thought

Self-compassion

When you use something to cope

Facing it a step at a time

Name what you feel

Safety and grounding

Rituals of connection

Shame

Affection and touch

Righteous anger and perfectionism

Ride the urge

Working with anger

Your worth is not conditional

Rebuilding trust

Posture and how you carry yourself

Patience and trust

Panic and the body

Notice the pattern and flex

Reading, numbers and learning differences

Listen to the body

Listening and understanding

Face it gently

Letting it out safely

When you go numb

When anger turns to harm

Obsessions and compulsions

Act on your values

Breaking the worry loop

Care for yourself in loss

Validate yourself and others

Your window of tolerance

Rest and pacing

Anger, alcohol and the body

Keep the bond

Get it out of your head

Your heart speeds up slightly on every breath in and slows on every breath out. Sit quietly with a hand on your chest and you can feel it.

This is why lengthening the out breath calms you and lengthening the in breath wakes you up. It also means you carry a working control that needs no…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 25:47One line of research

Breath reaches the settling machinery faster than reasoning does, because it works on a part of the brainstem that does not wait for your opinion.

That is why arguing yourself out of a panic rarely works while six slow breaths often do something. It also explains why breath practice can feel…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 50:16One line of research

Hum a note you like for a few breaths, and try covering your ears with your palms so the sound fills your head.

The vibration carries through your throat and your inner ear, and humming lengthens the out breath for you without any counting. Choose your own note…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 7:205One line of research

Breathe in, then push the air out gently against a closed throat, or against lightly pinched nostrils, for a couple of seconds.

The change of pressure in your chest is what does the work, and two or three rounds are enough to notice something. Keep it gentle. Straining is…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 94:1One line of research

Cold water on your face, particularly at the hairline and around the lips, sets off a reflex that slows the heart. It is one of the few things fast enough to interrupt real panic.

A splash at the sink, a few minutes outside in cold air, or a bowl of cold water if you have one to hand. There is a quieter version for when you…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 20:46One line of research

Whatever happens in a session, the change gets built in the other hours. Choose things you can do at a bus stop with nothing in your hands.

There are roughly 167 waking hours a week outside an appointment, and that is where a practice either becomes yours or quietly disappears. Elaborate…

A minuteYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 3:191One line of research