You can do this Burst for free in the Bearmore app. It walks you through each activity, step by step. Pick a time and we'll get it ready for you.
Breath work
Helen's therapeutic protocol starts with the body before the mind. Ten minutes of slow nasal breathing as the day is coming to a close. Self-compassion lands easier when the body is starting to relax.
This can be a good pairing because a calm, focused state from breath work can carry into mindful reading and sustained attention.
Reading (mindful)
Twenty minutes with a book that doesn't ask anything too much of you. Helen has spoken about reading-as-rest as one of the practices she makes sure she gets to most evenings. Fiction or essays; nothing that’s trying to improve you.
This works well because reading often surfaces themes that inquiry can explore more deeply.
Self-guided inquiry
Helen's signature inquiry: what would I say to a friend who had a day like I did? Sit with it for fifteen minutes. The answer is often softer than the one you were giving yourself.
This pairing is especially effective because writing can help capture raw ideas before they fade or turn into the same thoughts cycling again.
Journaling
Fifteen minutes writing about what came up in your inquiry. Helen often coaches writing in the second person to yourself, the way you'd write to someone you love. The writing doesn’t need to be eloquent.