Introduction: The Brain Doesn’t Entirely Know Whose Hand It Is The particular settling that happens when someone puts a hand on your shoulder. That experience is produced by the contact itself. A gentle pressure on the skin is processed as…
Introduction: Something Changed. Most People Walk Past It. The practice just ended. Maybe two minutes, maybe five. After a few minutes of breath awareness, or a short body scan, or any of the practices in this series — there is…
Introduction: How Many Minutes Today Were You Not Playing a Role? At work, there’s a version of you that’s competent and composed. In meetings, a version that’s engaged and appropriate. In the hallway, a version that looks like someone with…
Introduction: The Sigh Is Not a Sign of Weakness There’s an old superstition that sighing brings bad luck — that something escapes with the breath. What the research actually shows is closer to the opposite. A sigh is the body…
Introduction: Why Does Handwriting Feel Different From Typing? Most people who’ve taken notes both ways have noticed something: the handwritten ones tend to stick. Not always, not perfectly — but there’s a quality of retention and understanding that shows up…
Introduction: Have You Ever Tried to Tie Your Shoes Slowly — and Found It Harder? Most people have had this experience at some point. The deliberate attempt to slow down a motion that normally runs automatically — and suddenly the…
Introduction: Why Is Doing Nothing So Hard? Sit down. Don’t check the phone. Don’t organize your thoughts. Don’t try to relax. Don’t try to do this practice correctly. Just sit. This turns out to be surprisingly difficult. Within seconds, something…
Introduction: “I’m Exhausted” Is Your Body Trying to Tell You Something Mid-afternoon at your desk. The thought arrives: I’m so tired. And almost immediately, a second thought follows: I shouldn’t be. I need to push through. We treat fatigue as…