This first episode offers practical, guided versions of three of my favourite cornerstone exercises from the book—one for each part of the Soothe → Transcend → Move framework. These are some of the tools I return to most often in my clinical work and in my own life. A special thank you to the readers who pre-ordered Start Here: A Practical Guide for the Overwhelmed. Their support allowed me the time and space to create this audio recording.
What’s Inside This Episode
1. Autogenic Relaxation Training (step one: Soothe)
This is a brief, evidence-based relaxation method that shifts the body out of high alert. You’ll move through warm-heavy limb cues, breath settling, and gentle parasympathetic activation. This is a delicious soothing exercise and great at reducing physiological overwhelm.
2. RAIN (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) (step two: Transcend)
This is a structured way of moving through difficult emotions with clear-seeing and compassion. This practice helps you unhook from overthinking and drop into the real, bodily experience underneath. It’s a compact but transformative skill for moments when the mind is tight, looping, or judgmental.
3. Best Possible Self (step three: Move)
Finally, this is a short, future-oriented imagery exercise rooted in positive psychology (Peters, M. L., Flink, I. K., Boersma, K. & Linton, S. J., 2010). It was transformational as I was settling into my new home in New Zealand and the visualisation helped me direct my own course.
I hope it does the same for you, helping you map a direction that feels energising rather than pressuring. Many people find this practice motivating and calming.
Why These Three
They’re quick, they’re durable, and they cover the whole arc of coping:
Settle your system
Shift your perspective
Reconnect with direction
How to Use This Episode
Listen straight through for a full reset
Or return to each section individually when you need it
Headphones optional, but recommended
Coming Next
The broader podcast, FIELD NOTES — with Dr Kerry Makin-Byrd, will include:
Conversations with experts in wellbeing, psychology, medicine, and compassion science
Practical tools for managing burnout, trauma, and overwhelm
Short guided practices and reflections
If that sounds interesting, please subscribe, share with a friend, or just hit reply to ask me a question that you’d like to answer in future episodes.
Aroha, Kerry
