Take-Home Toolkit

Simple practices for stress relief, better sleep, and well-being.

These are the practices I use myself and teach to groups. Each one takes a few minutes, you don't need any equipment, and you can do them at your desk, in the car, or in bed when your mind won't quiet down.

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Start here

The path to stronger nervous system resilience is daily practice of at least one exercise.

You don't have to do everything on this page. Pick the one that fits your day and do it every day. Give it five days in a row before you decide if it's working. The more you practice, the faster each one works and the less time it takes.

Four Practices

Sound, rhythm, and breath

Use them on yourself any time you need them. Go at your own pace.

Before you begin

Always listen to your body. If you feel uncomfortable, stop the exercise and breathe at your own pace. As you practice, do your best to let go of thinking and focus on the technique.

Tapping · 2–10 minutes

Brain Tapping

Quickly calm stress by slowing your brainwaves with rhythm. It also gets your brain ready for sleep, focus, and handling intensity.

How to do it

First Rate your stress level, 1 to 10

Settle your gaze

Close your eyes, or rest them on one spot on the floor, and keep them there for the whole exercise.

Tap four times a second

Very gently tap the tops of your legs, right, left, right, left, about four taps per second. That's the tempo of the ticking stopwatch on 60 Minutes.

Breathe slowly throughout

Inhale and exhale very slowly the whole time you're tapping. Keep going for two to three minutes.

Slow to a stop

For the last 30 seconds, gradually slow the tapping down, then stop. Sit in silence for a moment, or go to sleep. Notice how you feel.

Then Rate your stress level again, 1 to 10

Where this comes from

This is the technique from my TEDx talk, which has been viewed more than seven million times. Watch it to hear why rhythm works this way.

How to Trick Your Brain Into Falling Asleep · TEDxYoungstown

Voice · 2–10 minutes

Brain Humming

Lift low mood, clear your mind, and switch on feel-good chemistry by stimulating the vagus nerve with your voice. Practice it daily.

For the brain

Close everything

Teeth together, lips together.

Hum the whole breath out

Take a full belly breath in, then exhale mmmmmmm for the whole length of the breath.

For eye strain, forehead, and sinuses

Same hum, moving jaw

Take a full belly breath in and exhale mmmmmmm for the length of the breath. As you exhale, slowly open and close your jaw. Your lips stay closed the whole time.

Breath · In the moment

The Emergency Brake

A fast way to interrupt a stress response while it's building. Use it before a hard conversation, before you present or speak, or the moment you feel yourself starting to escalate.

How to do it

Inhale slowly through your nose

A long, easy breath in. No rush.

Sip in a little more

When you think you're at the top of the breath, sip in just a bit more air.

Hold for two seconds

A short pause at the top. That's it.

Exhale slowly, then repeat

Let the breath out at an easy pace. Keep cycling through until you feel the escalation settle.

Voice · Full body practice

Full Body Sound Sequence

A longer vocal practice on one long, slow breath. You move through a sequence of syllables, and each one puts vibration in a different part of your body. It tells your nervous system it's safe to downshift into rest.

Follow along

What it's doing

Each syllable rides on a long, slow breath, deep in and then out across the sound. The vibration at different points in your body, along with the extended exhale, tells your vagus nerve it's okay to relax. Humming also triggers oxytocin, dopamine, endorphins, and nitric oxide, which is your body's own way of telling you you're doing something good for it.

Practiced regularly, this is how resilience builds. Your nervous system gets faster and more efficient at coming back from a stress response. The stress doesn't go away. Your body just learns, through repetition, that it can return to calm.

As you practice

Always listen to your body. Only do what feels comfortable, and take breaks whenever you need to.

Work With Me

Want to bring this to your team?

This is the kind of work I do with groups. Here's how we can work together.

Team Building

Hands-on, interactive sessions that get your people connecting, communicating, and working together.

Nervous System Regulation Training

Practical tools like the ones on this page, taught live, so your people can handle stress and bounce back faster.

Interactive Conference Keynotes

Keynotes where your audience takes part instead of just listening.

Let's talk about your group

See everything I offer and get in touch about your team or event.

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On the Calendar

Come see me live

Public workshops and appearances, updated as they're booked.

My workshop schedule

Find a date near you.

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