Aim to make down-regulation (rest and digest, parasympathetic response) your normal growth state for optimal system function.
When embarking on personal change, approach it with compassion for yourself (as you’ll be challenged) and for others (as your changes may challenge them), and practice patience.
To return to a natural state of well-being, focus on stripping back and simplifying your life by removing things that are not serving you.
To lower heart rate and blood pressure, practice breathing in for four seconds and exhaling for six seconds, doing six rounds for about a minute.
To induce immediate calm, consciously relax your pelvic basin, lower abdomen, jaw, shoulders, and heart.
Before entering your home or a new space, take one minute to practice down-regulation breathing with a longer exhale to improve interactions with loved ones.
Ensure your digestive system is activated for receiving and absorbing nutrients by down-regulating (entering a calm state) before eating.
Spending 20 minutes in a natural environment can lower your heart rate and blood pressure, shifting you into a parasympathetic (rest and digest) state.
Even if you can’t live in nature, you can still adopt a natural lifestyle by aligning your physiological, social, and spiritual needs within any habitat.
Engaging in inner work, such as breathing practices, will improve all your relationships, including the one with yourself, and enhance work and home environments.
Wearing minimalist shoes like Vivo barefoot for six months can increase foot strength by 60% and balance by 40%, even without specific exercises.
Wearing compromising footwear can remove 60% of your foot strength and 40% of your balance, so choose footwear that supports natural foot function.
Understand that compromising footwear can remove 60% of foot strength and 40% of balance, which is critical for creating solid foundations for children’s physical development.
Upon arriving home, remove your shoes and engage in “toga” (yoga for your feet) practices to help unravel the compromises created by modern footwear.
Engage in ground sitting and squatting as rest positions, similar to the Hadza tribe, to interact with the ground, benefit your microbiome, and maintain foot strength and postural organization.
While watching TV, practice various ground resting positions like shin box sits or simply sitting on the floor, using supports like cushions or heel wedges as needed, and playing with the edges of discomfort to improve mobility over time.
To make squatting a restful position, use heel supports (like wedges) to assist, gradually reducing their height over time as your mobility improves.
Engage in kneeling positions, such as single-leg kneeling, as prerequisites for squatting to improve ankle range of motion and dorsiflexion.
Work on improving ankle dorsiflexion (pulling your foot and big toe up towards your shin) as it’s crucial for walking, running, knee stability, and hip function.
Set up your home environment to integrate natural movement, such as ground sitting, standing while working, or hanging from a pull-up bar while waiting for the kettle’s boiling.
Opt for unstable seating, like a Move Man chair, to keep postural muscles engaged, prevent slumping, and avoid aches from prolonged sitting.
A standing desk isn’t a complete solution; ensure you maintain good posture and adopt beneficial shapes while standing to avoid detriments similar to poor sitting posture.
Avoid staying in one rest position for too long; allow muscles to switch on and off by changing your shape, responding to cues of discomfort.
When working, especially for long periods, utilize a ground sitting desk or low tables to alternate between kneeling, squatting, shin boxing, and standing positions.
After prolonged sitting, perform a desk squat (allowing heels to lift if needed) to reset locomotive joint actions, focusing on keeping your chest up and looking at the horizon.
Bring cold immersion into your life to experience its benefits, starting with simple ways like cold showers.
Before cold immersion, use breathing techniques to down-regulate and change your perception of the cold, preparing your mind and body for the experience.
Continue down-regulation breathing while in cold water to remain calm and manage the stressor effectively.
Engage in cold exposure (cold showers, baths) as a controlled stressor to change your mind’s perception of cold, thereby practicing for life’s other stressors.
Before entering a cold shower or bath, work through breathing practices to avoid an emotional reaction and feed fear; breath enables access to the skill of cold immersion.
While in a warm shower, gradually adjust the water temperature to cold, continuously focusing on long, down-regulating breaths (like 4-in, 6-out) rather than the cold itself.
When immersing yourself in cold water, focus your attention on exhaling, especially as you lower your body parts, as longer exhales lower heart rate and blood pressure, helping to manage stress.
When someone is experiencing a stressful or anxious moment, guide them to breathe out first, as this creates a space for them to then breathe in again effectively.
Focus on creating a natural sleep habitat by optimizing air quality, temperature, and lighting, as these environmental factors profoundly influence sleep habits and hormonal balance, rather than solely focusing on sleep hygiene.
If your life is less stressed and you are regularly down-regulated, you may inherently need less sleep or rest because there is less chronic stress to recover from.
Ensure good air quality in your bedroom, as inhaling stale, recirculated air for eight hours (e.g., with closed windows and central heating) can negatively impact sleep quality.
Recognize that dopamine surges from screen activities like typing, swiping, and getting likes are not conducive to sleep, so avoid them before bedtime.
Bright light exposure, especially from screens, suppresses melatonin production, which can take 1-3 hours to recover, impacting not just sleep but also other regulatory systems.
Get natural light exposure in the morning to support serotonin production, which helps synthesize melatonin for the evening, ensuring melatonin peaks around 10 p.m. when cortisol is lowest.
In the evening, opt for amber-toned lighting (like firelight, starlight, moonlight, or salt lamps) to create biological darkness, which supports natural hormonal cycles, unlike bright artificial lights.
To improve sleep and reduce temptation, keep your smartphone out of the bedroom, ideally in a different part of the house.
Install low blue light, amber-toned bulbs in bedside lamps for evening reading to minimize blue light exposure and support melatonin production.
Incorporate Himalayan salt lamps in rooms for a reddish, amber-toned light that helps create biological darkness and can be adjusted for lux levels.
For a safe and effective amber light source, use tea lights placed inside jars, mimicking firelight.
Establish a clear boundary that the bedroom is exclusively for sleeping and sex, not for working, typing, or swiping on devices.
Turn off your Wi-Fi router in the evening at a set time, or use a timer, to reduce electromagnetic chaos and support a better sleep environment.
Establish distinct physical spaces for work and relaxation, especially when working from home, to prevent your brain from associating relaxation areas with work tasks.
Be intentional about designing your environments (e.g., work, podcast studio) to elicit desired outcomes like warmth, vulnerability, intimacy, or authenticity.
To make running more playful, focus on breath and technique, and avoid tracking devices that can distract from the present experience and lead to ego-driven performance rather than “present best.”
When running, use nasal breathing as a feedback mechanism: if you find yourself mouth breathing, it’s a sign to taper back and return to nasal breathing for better efficiency.
Nasal breathing during physical activity, especially running, reduces vapor loss by 42% compared to mouth breathing, making you more efficient and reducing the need for excessive hydration.
View short walks, like getting off the tube one stop earlier, as opportunities to meet multiple natural needs, including natural light exposure, sun, bird sounds, and breathing practices, not just calorie burning.
Open yourself to opportunities for natural movement throughout your day, such as balancing on curbs, walls, or taking stairs instead of escalators.
When engaging in an activity, consider how many natural needs you can meet, rather than just focusing on a single outcome.
If spending time outdoors is difficult, try to bring more organic experiences (what you see, taste, smell, feel, and how you move) into your home environment.
Allow your whole being to inflate with an inhale, and then let the breath leave you naturally without pushing the exhale.
When choosing amber lighting, be mindful of the trade-off between reducing blue light and potentially increasing electromagnetic chaos from Bluetooth or Wi-Fi enabled bulbs.
Consider using bespoke minimalist footwear that allows your feet to perform naturally while offering a little protection, especially for demanding activities.
Liberate your joints and spine by adopting posture-enhancing positions such as squats and heel-sitting.
Understand the importance of good quality sleep, recognizing that you may not always need the mythical eight hours.
Engage in simple breathing practices to reduce stress, feel calmer, and lessen anxiety.
Instead of just symptom relief, address the root cause of foot issues by considering the environment for the foot, which is often the shoe itself.
When experiencing discomfort during movement or new positions, use breathing practices to offer relaxation and prevent increased tension and stress.