Feeling burnt out, unmotivated, or lacking energy are often signals from our bodies and minds that it may be time to make a few changes in our lives. 

Making big shifts all at once isn’t generally sustainable — so this week, we’ll talk about how to reset in simple ways, and allow the momentum from small choices to continue to open doors.

The practices we’ll share come to us from Dr. Brooke Stuart, a holistic doctor and member of our community. She’s also the Founder of the Let Go & Grow® program.

If you want to try a mini Mind-Body Reset this week, we're sharing 5 practices below!

First, Set an Intention

Our first invitation is this: set an intention.

Intentions are powerful because they help us connect our everyday goals and choices with something that extends beyond just today.

For example, if your goal is to walk for 30 minutes today, the intention behind the goal might be to build self-confidence, take a break, exhale, reset your mind, or simply to move. 

Setting an intention can help activate the brain’s Reticular Activating System (RAS), a bundle of nerves at our brainstem that filters out unnecessary information so the important stuff gets through.

Having an intention will help us notice specific, small opportunities that align with the larger vision we have.

The psychological function of intentions

Intentions are closely linked to motivation and are responsible for initiating, sustaining, and finishing actions. Do you have an intention or a vision for something you’d like to work towards in your life?

Tap Into Your Heart

Before diving into labs, medical tests, diet, and lifestyle changes, Dr. Brooke finds it important to show her patients the power that lies within their heart.

Throughout history and across cultures, the wisdom of the heart has been revered and well known.

Chinese Medicine, specifically, sees the heart as the master of the mind because of its ability to influence our perception, thoughts, and feelings and thus our choices, physiology, and life experiences. 

The HeartMath Institute — a research organization that develops scientifically-validated tools to help people reduce and avoid stress — describes a state they call “coherence.”

Coherence is a state of increased psychological and physiological balance, and generates a smooth, wave-like pattern in heart rate variability. 

A shift in state — from chaotic to coherent — can be accessed in under two minutes by simply placing your hands over your own heart, breathing deeply, and summoning gratitude. 

When you have a moment today, we invite you to try to tune into your own heartbeat through heart focus, heart breathing, and heart feeling.

Try a heart rate shift

If you have two minutes between tasks today, place your hands over your own heart, breathe deeply, and summon gratitude. How does it make you feel?

Turn on the Light

We just learned about the importance of the heart and how to connect with it — a pivotal step in learning to work with your mind and body.

Now, we are going to build upon this connection by focusing on the present moment.

Returning to the present moment can often feel like “turning on the light.” Once you are fully present and the light is on, it becomes easier to see and work through any challenges that present themselves.

This can leave some feeling overwhelmed and paralyzed as “turning on the light” might look like some sort of back room or garage-like area filled with dust, dirt and boxes that contain old and outdated thoughts and feelings!

When we don’t have the tools, or feel incapable to sort through our thoughts, it becomes easy to reflex, turn the light back off, and run for the hills.

However, by giving ourselves the opportunity to look at, learn from, let go of, and grow through the challenges presented, we can turn them into opportunities for growth and development.

6 quick, easy, and science-based ways to get present

🤲🏼 Hands-Across-Chest Tapping: Place your hands across your chest and tap alternately (right, left, right, left) for 30–60 seconds while breathing deeply. This bilateral stimulation, used in techniques like EMDR, can calm the nervous system and anchor you into the present.

🌬️ Resonant Breathing: Focus on your breath for 2 minutes, noticing each inhale and exhale (5 breaths in through the nose, 5 breaths out through the nose or mouth). Research shows this activates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing the stress response and grounding you in the moment.

🦢 Notice Beauty Outside: Step outside and observe something beautiful — a flower, a tree, a bird, or the sky. Engaging with nature boosts present-moment awareness while reducing the stress response. 

⌨️ Feel Your Hands on the Keyboard: If typing, pause to notice the sensations of your fingers on the keys. Think of the texture, pressure, or warmth. Sensory grounding techniques like this can also enhance present moment awareness.

🖼️ Appreciate Your Surroundings: Look around the room and focus on something you like — a piece of art, a cozy chair, or a favorite object. This intentional focus lets gratitude in and can anchors you in the here and now. 

💬 Repeat An Affirmation: If you like affirmations, repeat, “I choose to return to the present moment and be here, now, connected and receptive to myself and the process of life.” Dr. Brooke often uses this affirmation in her practice!

Evaluate Your Diet and Lifestyle

When it comes to diet and lifestyle, it is important to keep it simple and true to you.

Yes, there are broad categories and core tenants but there is also room for preference and bio-individuality. What matches your biology and psychology?

There’s “one right way” to eat or cook, but research does show that whole foods that are rich in nutrients and hydration are broadly beneficial.

And enjoyment of what you are eating also matters — eating from a place of love versus deprivation is psychologically beneficial. It can be helpful to think about what colors and textures engage your senses and make you happy. (P.S. We've previously written about meal planning hacks here!)

Lifestyle-wise, we can consider these four categories and how we can optimize them for ourselves: Movement, Play, Sleep, and Relaxation.

Do you enjoy your workouts, or dread them? Is there something you could adjust to enjoy movement more?

Bring your attention to Food, Movement, Play, Sleep, and Relaxation

If you have a few moments today, simply observe your day and jot down the notes that feel appropriate without judgment — what would you like to adjust and improve?

Live In Alignment

So far we’ve been talking about practical strategies to reset our minds and bodies. We’re going to close by talking about alignment.

Many of us have spent time living our lives to meet the expectations of the homes we grew up in and the world at large, pushing ourselves in conscious and unconscious ways to conform to ideals that simply don’t resonate with our own true nature. 

Today, I invite you to see where you can expand and align more actively with yourself.

For example, let’s say you love working with an open window and music on and you can, but growing up you could not. Today, turn that music on and open the window up.

Giving ourselves permission to adjust the way we perceive the world, interact with it, and interpret it while making practical adjustments can open us up to increasingly expansive states of appreciation, enjoyment, and fulfillment along the way. 

Not only do these expansive states set off cascades of neurochemicals that influence the brain’s rewards system and enhance cognitive functions, but they also fuel further motivation!

Your alignment challenge

What’s something you can allow yourself to try or do today that aligns with your true nature and makes you genuinely happy, even if it might seem a little strange to someone else?

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This week, we talked about how to reset in simple ways, and allow the momentum from small choices to continue to open doors.

The practices in this post came to us from Dr. Brooke Stuart, a holistic doctor and member of our community.

P.S. If you could use help accomplishing your goals, busting through procrastination, or getting motivated — please join us at one of our live guided work sessions, or morning planning sessions! Our entire community is waiting for you.

Take care,

— focused space team

P.S. Our programs and resources are for informational purposes only. This website is not for emergency or crisis help. Our programs are not intended to provide mental health diagnosis, counseling, or treatment. You should always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider.