Exercises to Calm Your Body, Mind, and Vagus Nerve

"All therapy is at some level about mindfulness," writes Dr. Faith. She offers encouragement here to make a regular time to slow down and take a close look at exactly what is happening in your body and mind, so that you can gain better understanding and healing.

She starts by disambiguating the often-interchangeably-used terms mindfulness and meditation, and offers exercises for each practice (and some that combine both), then shows what is scientifically happening in our brains when we do these things.

There's a section of advice for scientific practice, so you aren't sitting there trying to meditate and just getting triggered. And then there are nine different exercises, with descriptions of how to do them, and what situations they might be especially effective for—for instance one is good for migraines and another is especially suited for managing anger and aggression.

Some of the exercises come from her Buddhist practice, but all are presented in a non-religious manner and with accommodations for various needs.