Resources

Gentle, body-aware techniques that honour your nervous system and support healing at your own pace.

Pendulation Practice

Either seated or lying down. Notice any areas of tension, and then any areas of ease in your body. Breathe gently while moving attention between them. This teaches your nervous system that difficult sensations are temporary.

Drop Anchor

If available to you, plant your feet onto the floor.

Push them down and notice the floor and how it is supporting you.

Notice any sensations in your legs as you continue to push your feet down.

Bring your awareness to the rest of your body and begin to notice the feeling of gravity flowing through your head, and down the spine and legs – into both feet.

Slowly bring your awareness back to the room you are in. Take a deep breath in, and out and notice where you are and if anything feels different.

Gentle practices to strengthen your emotional foundation and build capacity for life’s ups and downs.

Compassionate Breathing

Either in a seated position or lying down, place one hand on heart, one on belly. Breathe naturally while sending yourself the same kindness you’d offer to someone you care for. With each breath, imagine breathing in compassion, and slowly breathing out any tension.

Repeat up to ten times.

Three-Part Breath for Balance

In a seated position, with an upright back, breathe into the belly (1), the ribs (2), and then chest (3). Exhale in reverse order. This complete breath oxygenates your body fully and helps integrate any scattered emotions.

Repeat up to ten times.

Designed to support you to access your inner wisdom and natural problem-solving abilities.

Clarity Breath

Before making decisions, take a seat in an upright position. Take 10 slow, deep breaths. In through the nose and out through the nose or mouth. With each exhale, observe any mental chatter. With each inhale, invite clarity. Often our wisest choices emerge from this calm space.

Be patient and repeat until you feel a shift.

Capacity Breathing

Either seated or lying down. Recall a time you overcame a challenge. Breathe deeply while holding this memory. Feel the strength in your body. Notice any sensations or feelings. This practice supports you access and grow your resilience.

When experiencing any challenging emotions or discomfort, our natural instinct can be to resist or fight against it. This simple technique offers a different approach, one that allows us to work with any discomfort, rather than against it.

Step 1: Locate the Discomfort

Begin by gently noticing where you feel any tension, pressure or emotional discomfort within your body. This might be some tightness in the chest, a knot in your stomach, or perhaps heaviness in the shoulders. It may be subtle or more present.

Step 2: The Practice

Allow your breath to flow directly into any places of tension, pressure or emotional discomfort, creating room for these sensations to exist without resistance.

Step 3: Acceptance

With each inhale, consciously make space for whatever you are feeling. Instead of trying to push any discomfort away, breathe into it. Think of it as offering any uncomfortable emotions a place to rest.

Step 4: Release on the Exhale

 With each exhale, gently allow any discomfort to leave with your breath. Creating an opportunity for them to flow out. Imagining any tension, pressure or emotional discomfort to flow of your body with each breath.

Step 5: Repeat with Patience

Continue this pattern for up to 10 breaths. Remember that emotions and physical sensations are temporary, like waves that rise and fall. If the discomfort returns, that’s normal, simply begin the process again.

This technique transforms your relationship with challenging experiences, teaching you that you have the capacity to be with emotional discomfort, while also making room for a natural recalibration.

Forest Walk

Time amongst trees naturally reduces stress and discomfort. Additionally, any kind of movement such as walking, stimulates your lymphatic system, creating the perfect environment for taking a few deep breathes. Slow down and see what a few moments with the quiet rhythm of nature can do to bring balance to your daily life. (No nearby forest? Barefoot on a patch of grass or walking around a local park can have the same effect!).

Cold Water Reset (Dive Response)

Particularly supportive to men - Splash cold (not freezing) water on your face or hold a cold pack to cheeks for 20+ seconds. This activates the mammalian diving reflex, naturally slowing heart rate and calming any intense emotions within 30 seconds.

4-7-8 Reset

Breathe in for 4 counts → Hold for 7 → Exhale for 8. This activates your parasympathetic nervous system, signalling safety to your body. Perfect for feelings of anxiety, panic, or when you need immediate grounding.

Box Breathing Anchor

Inhale 4 → Hold 4 → Exhale 4 → Hold 4. Imagine drawing the sides of a box with your breath. This technique helps balance your nervous system and brings you back to the present moment.

Temperature Regulation

Particularly supportive to men - Maintaining your natural breath pattern without changing it in any way and hold ice cubes, step outside in cool air, or take a cool shower. Temperature changes help shift your body out of emotional overwhelm by engaging your nervous system’s natural regulation mechanisms.

Anxiety Relief

Research demonstrates significant improvements in anxiety symptoms through breathwork interventions in clinically diagnosed populations (Hopper et al., 2023).

Nervous System Balance

Studies reveal breathwork acts directly on the autonomic nervous system as a “bottom-up” approach to stress reduction, with benefits across diverse populations (Zaccaro et al., 2023).

Dive Response for Distress

Cold facial stimulation activates the mammalian diving reflex, naturally slowing heart rate and reducing panic responses within seconds (Kox et al., 2021).

Hopper, S. I., et al. (2023). Breathwork interventions for adults with clinically diagnosed anxiety disorders: A scoping review. Brain Sciences, 13(2), 256.

Morgan, S. P., et al. (2024). A systematic review of breathing exercise interventions: An integrative complementary approach for anxiety and stress. Biological Research for Nursing.

Zaccaro, A., et al. (2023). Breathing practices for stress and anxiety reduction: Implementation guidelines based on systematic review. Brain Sciences, 13(12), 1741.

Breathwork (or breath holds that can cause light-headedness) must never be practiced when driving or operating machinery.

Breathwork or breath holds must never be practiced in extreme hot or cold temperatures or in water (including bath tubs, showers, spas, pools, ocean, saunas, ice baths and any other body of water not mentioned here) or in any other place or environment where it might be dangerous to faint.

Breathwork or breath holds must never be practiced when working with sharp objects or partaking in any other potentially hazardous activity.