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.

Narrowed down

7 practices

Twenty minutes Getting ready for something Body based Clear all

How long you have · Twenty minutes

A minute 12 Five minutes 18 Twenty minutes 7 Longer 2

Who it is written for

A practitioner 7 Me 7 Someone I care about 6

Where you are right now · Getting ready for something

Coping, mostly 22 Struggling right now 13 Getting ready for something 7

On your own, or with someone

On my own 6 Involves someone else 1

Theme

Your nervous system 2 Breathing 2 Grounding and settling 1 Posture and how you carry yourself 1 Moving your body 1

Approach · Body based

ADHD skills 35 Medical and treatment 15 CBT 11 Core 11 Body based 7 Mindfulness 2 Emotionally focused 1 Gottman 1

A good instructor says light, moderate, heavy. A poor one says set the dial to three. Only one of those takes account of the body you actually brought with you.

Fixed settings guarantee that somebody in the room is working far too hard and somebody else is barely working at all. If you tend to go flat out and…

Twenty minutesBreathingBody basedQur’an 65:7

Heading towards the shape is the whole job. A perfect triangle is not what the pose is for, and nobody is marking it.

Perfectionism and going too hard tend to travel together, and between them they produce most of the injuries and most of the quitting. If you are…

Twenty minutesBreathingBody basedQur’an 20:26

Your settling kit should cost nothing. Tea you already buy, a photo already on your phone, an old jumper, a smooth stone, a puzzle that takes your whole attention.

Anything you have to buy first becomes a reason not to start, and for anyone short of money it can add a layer of shame to the thing that was meant…

Twenty minutesGrounding and settlingBody basedQur’an 16:80

If a movement class sounds like it comes with somebody else's beliefs attached, ask what actually happens in the room before ruling it out. Much of it can be done as plain movement.

Stretching, holding a shape, breathing steadily, none of that belongs to anyone. Teachers vary, and plenty will leave out the chanting or the framing…

Twenty minutesMoving your bodyBody basedQur’an 25:63

Calm is only half the training. Plenty of people are more frightened of stillness than of adrenaline, because stillness puts the guard down.

If everything you practise is a settling practice, half the range goes untrained, and you may be asking someone to drop a defence they still need. So…

Twenty minutesPosture and how you carry yourselfBody basedQur’an 25:64

Yoga, slow breathing with feedback, neurofeedback and listening programmes are all aiming at the same target. Pick the one you can actually get to and keep doing.

Because they share a mechanism, they are largely swappable. Cost, travel, waiting lists and whether you enjoy it are legitimate grounds for choosing…

Twenty minutesYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 2:152

If a practice feels like homework you are failing at, turn it into a game. Some feedback tools do this for you, bringing colour and birdsong to a grey screen as your heart rhythm settles.

Trying hard to relax is a trap. The effort keeps you keyed up, and then you have one more thing to be bad at. Play sidesteps that entirely. It is the…

Twenty minutesYour nervous systemBody basedQur’an 16:78

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