Practice Ways with Jodi Wilson
A Brain That Breathes
Practice Ways is an ongoing feature sharing notes from writers, makers, coaches, and creatives, offering perspectives on what balance looks like in this real life.
An honour to share some notes with you from bestselling author, health journalist, yoga teacher, and postpartum doula Jodi Wilson. She writes Practicing Simplicity, a truly loved publication here on Substack, and is the woman behind my favourite book this year — A Brain That Breathes.
Like Jodi herself, her new book is a lighthouse, offering accessible entry points to breathing space — intentional rest that is the most fundamental, scientifically proven fuel for living well. It’s full of practical suggestions for embracing the power of enoughness, soft fascination, and intentional not-doing — vital practices that support us to declutter the mind, restore attention, and live every day with breathing space.
I’ve felt so much affirmation and ease in these pages, and find that inquiring what breathing space might look for me each day inspires action. Breathing space is a practice for all of us, every day. Thank you, dear Jodi, for so generously sharing your insights here…
Balance is making sure there is breathing space in my days and after two years of practising this, thanks in part to the research I did for A Brain That Breathes, I can confidently say that I’m the most grounded and settled I’ve ever been.
– Jodi Wilson
What’s feeling really good to you in this season?
I’m not sure there’s a better feeling than knowing — really knowing — yourself and what you need. That’s what’s feeling really good to me in this season, choosing to prioritise meaningful care that my brain, body and nervous system responds positively to and building a daily rhythm around these things. That starts with an early morning walk when the stars are still in the sky. I walk without my phone and headphones; I start the day with space. I don’t say that as a smug ‘morning person’ but as someone who has figured out what I need to feel grounded, regardless how busy and overwhelming normal life is. I return home, make a cup of tea and write for an hour before the kids wake up and I get them ready for school. I’m also in a lovely creative space at the moment, working on my next non-fiction book and my debut novel, but I can only access that wonderful state of creative flow if I take care of myself by resting when I’m tired, moving my body every day, and eating nourishing food.
What does balance look like for you right now?
I think we’re always juggling in some way, but I do believe we can learn to be grounded even though there’s lots of balls in the air. Being grounded is very reliant on breathing space which I define as ‘small moments of downtime, often.’ It’s what modern life has eradicated — all the mellow states of wandering, wondering, pottering, pondering — where our brain takes a back seat and does the good work of sorting and decluttering so we can have mental clarity. What do we do in all the ‘in-between’ moments in our days? We habitually pick up our phone which contributes to all the symptoms we know so well: overwhelm, irritability, decision fatigue, exhaustion. Balance is making sure there is breathing space in my days and after two years of practising this, thanks in part to the research I did for A Brain That Breathes, I can confidently say that I’m the most grounded and settled I’ve ever been.
What practices support your sense of balance?
An early morning walk without my phone and headphones — I start the day with space.
I protect my best creative hours so I don’t let my phone in my office and I schedule all meetings/appointments for the afternoon (my mornings are for my words).
Movement; along with my daily walk I do 4 strength training / pilates classes a week.
Sighing. The brain has a ‘breathing pacemaker’ that dictates a sigh if we’re holding too much tension. I think we should all be sighing more; it’s an immediate, softening reset that helps ground you in the moment, think of it as a protective mechanism against stress.
Settling for sleep. We are militant when it comes to settling our children for sleep but we grow up and forget about how vital this is for our nervous system and our sleep quality. I am all for leaving my phone in the kitchen overnight (i have a very basic analogue clock that only lights up if you hit the button), I have a shower in the dark, a hot water bottle when it’s cold, a cup of herbal tea or a magnesium hot chocolate, dim lighting and a good book.
What’s one gesture toward center you’d invite everyone reading to partake with you today?
Subtract one thing from your day. I don’t think any woman in the world needs another thing on her list so ask yourself: What can I let go of? This is how you create a bit of space in your day which is really meaningful care. I’m quite willing to admit that ‘self-care’ is a phrase I recoil from. Yes, it has meaningful roots in black feminist activism but it’s been swept up in a capitalist rhetoric: do this and buy this and you’ll feel better. It’s also a multi-trillion dollar global industry that isn’t focused on care so much as improvement. And in this world, improving yourself and optimising your life is a lucrative treadmill because we are striving to be the best, but there is no end to this race — we’ll be running our whole lives — and inevitably burning out — if we don’t make change. Meaningful care starts by understanding your biology — your brain and your nervous system and learning to see the spaces that exist between all the doing — sitting quietly in them, breathing deep, letting your body soften.
Jodi Wilson is a bestselling author, health journalist, yoga teacher, and postpartum doula. Her previous books include Practising Simplicity and the number-one-selling The Complete Guide to Postpartum. Her work has been published by The Guardian and the ABC, and she writes two weekly newsletters on Substack — Practising Simplicity and Dear New Mum. She lives in a small town in Lutruwita/Tasmania with her partner and their four children.
Jodi thank you for more achievable ways to be.
Reinforced what the brain does when we slow down, potter, look and listen.
You are a shining star and I am sharing what I am learning from you with my friends.
Than you.
Sighing and settling ourselves to sleep. Two tips I’ll be taking into my days 💫💫