Cold Hands
1 min · body
Hold something cold for 30 seconds. Quietly hijacks the same nerve that calms a baby. Discreet enough for a meeting.
Do this →Conflict heating up
When you can feel the temperature rise, you have about five seconds before you say something you'll regret. Spend them here.
Feet on the Floor
1 min · body
Press both feet flat into the ground and put all your attention there for thirty seconds. Pulls you out of your head and back into the room. Nobody can tell you're doing it.
Do this →The Orienting Look
1 min · body
Slowly let your eyes move around the room and land on a few ordinary objects. A quiet way to tell a keyed-up system that nothing here is actually a threat. Works with your camera on.
Do this →Unclench
1 min · body
A thirty-second sweep through the three places you hold tension — jaw, shoulders, hands — letting each one go. You're almost certainly clenching something right now.
Do this →Box Breathing
3 min · breath
In four, hold four, out four, hold four. A slow, even pattern that gives a racing system something steady to lock onto. Three or four rounds is enough.
Do this →