SANDCASTLES Visualisation. Overcome stress and worries, with secrets neuroscience and psychology.

Imagine you with a five year old kid who's never been to the beach. He wants to play in the sand. Maybe he wants to build a sandcastle, but he's unsure. He's not done it before. How would you be with this kid?

Would you focus on just getting the castle finished getting it perfect? No room for errors. Just go go go.

How could you be kind, soft, encouraging patient, letting the kid take the lead? Letting him make mistakes?

What is the point of building sandcastles? Is it to sweat and toil and to build some perfect fortress that stands forever? Or is it to have a fun day at the beach?

Your mind is that little kid.

That kid is tired and weary and fearful. He's way down with expectations. Help your mind to get back to playing in the sand without trying to be perfect. treated with kindness, compassion, curiosity and encouragement, because then it will show its courage and color again.

That's how you have to do this course, treat this whole experience as a little escape. You don't have to achieve anything. You're at the beach with a bunch of little buckets and spades and not a care in the world. Whether your sandcastle gets washed away,

treated with kindness. Don't worry if you do a rubbish job.

If you get it wrong, if it doesn't work on any given day, just go to the beach and have some fun again.

It's not about passing some kind of test. It's much more important than that.

It's about claiming your life back. And remembering what you really like.

Stress and anxiety are real. They're natural responses of the mind body, which can become too much and wear you out. They make you tired and joyless and forgetful, all of that. Well bring it all bring all those feelings to this course because they're very welcome here. It's a workshop where you can tinker with them as if the problems are right in front of you. This is your peaceful place, like an old porch, or a shed by the river.

Come to learn. COMM to become a little wiser.

For now, just pause. You've got the space and the chance to do something for yourself here.

Close your eyes and stand up if you can. And raise your hands high above your head, making your body as long as possible. stretching yourself upwards as much as you reasonably can.

While you do it, take a deep breath in and hold it and release. Maybe do a twist to the left and the right as if you're wringing out a cloth. Still holding your arms up.

Why do this? Well, there's a couple of neurobiological hacks. Firstly, testosterone and oxytocin are spiked upwards when you stand in a victory pose. Even blind people stand in a victory pose when they win something that's a free boost hormonally right there.

Second, inhaling deeply and squeezing your body out is a very sensory experience. It helps you become grounded to the here and now. Holding your breath makes you more aware of it and makes your breathing deeper. Both of those things reduce stress.

Some of this stuff as you can see, works because it doesn't involve thinking. It's just doing things.

Even if you don't trust yourself right now. Just trust this process. Some of it will stick and some of it won't. That's exactly as it should be.

Welcome and take it easy in your peaceful place.