5 day Cortisol Reset
Welcome!
If you are currently feeling stressed, tired, and unable to focus - you are not alone. Most of us are experiencing more stress than our bodies can handle and when we don’t have the time or ability to complete the stress cycle we end up storing stress in our tissues - which feels like tension and tightness. The next 5 days will help you release that tension so you feel light and open by the time summer solstice arrives.
Lifestyle Tips:
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Prioritize your circadian rhythm (sleep / wake cycle) by waking up at the same time each morning and getting sunlight (or bright light) into your eyes right away. Consistent wake time is more impactful than bedtime, but also try to get to bed earlier with a relaxing bedtime routine so you are winding down and getting quality sleep.
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Manage your blood sugar levels throughout the day so there are no big spikes or lulls - the ebook explains in detail about how cortisol affects insulin but the basic concept is that stress affects how energy is used and stored in the body. Cortisol raises blood sugar levels. It signals the liver to release stored glucose into the bloodstream, providing quick energy to handle stress. This can lead to higher blood sugar levels, especially with chronic stress. This leads to the “wired” feeling we get with stress. This also explains how stress can cause weight gain. When cortisol raises blood sugar levels, the body may store the excess sugar as fat, particularly in the abdominal area. This is because high blood sugar prompts insulin release, and insulin promotes fat storage. Chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels can lead to increased fat accumulation. So to help balance cortisol in the body we can start with managing our own blood sugar levels, in the following ways:
Regular Meal Intervals: As a general rule try not to go longer than 4 hours without eating and try to eat a balance of carbs, protein and fat at each meal or snack to keep blood sugar from spiking.Fiber Intake: Include high-fiber foods like vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains to slow the absorption of sugar.
Healthy Fats: Incorporate healthy fats from sources like avocados, nuts, seeds, and olive oil to help regulate blood sugar levels.
Hydration: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated and support metabolic processes.
Regular Exercise: Engage in regular physical activity, especially after meals, such as walking will help your body use insulin more efficiently. There have also been studies done that prove that doing a few squats every throughout the day is just as effective as a long walk once a day in managing blood sugar.
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Take a break from high intensity exercise - it causes your body to release cortisol and is therefore counter productive to your goals! Just focus on walking, yoga and low intensity exercise until you have less stressors, or have built more resilience and cortisol balance.
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Binaural beats are a form of auditory illusion perceived when two different pure-tone sine waves, both with frequencies lower than 1500 Hz, with a difference of less than 40 Hz, are presented to a listener, through each ear. The brain perceives a third tone, known as a binaural beat, which is the mathematical difference between the two frequencies.
The primary theory is that binaural beats can induce brainwave entrainment - or synchronizing your brainwave activity to match the music. In this playlist you will be putting your brain into an alpha wave state. Harnessing your brain's alpha waves can help you enter a flow state, which allows you to do deep work with less effort. Alpha waves induce feelings of calm, increase creativity, and enhance your ability to absorb new information.
Regular exposure to binaural beats can support neuroplasticity and rewire your response to stress. Try it while you work!
How this RESET works?
You will do the same morning practice and the same evening practice every day as an audio recording - the video below explains and demonstrates these two practices.
There are also bonus practices, a mindset focus and a journaling prompts for each day to further enhance your results, listed below.
watch the intro video so you can visualize and learn the exercises - even just visualizing your body releasing starts the process
Read the info for each day so you know the mindset work and the focus for each day
listen to the audio recording for somatic release each night and for breathwork each morning - these are best done with eyes closed or with an internal focus which is why video is not ideal
drink lots of water and manage your blood sugar all day
do the journaling practice whenever you have a chance throughout your day
give yourself a good amount of time to wind down at night - I like candles and tea and a book or journal before getting into the bedtime practice
trust the process - even if you feel triggered or moody or irritable for the first few days - if you keep it up you WILL feel lighter by the end of 5 full days
try to avoid known triggers where possible, just like a mini vacation from big stressors for 5 days (for example: don’t let yourself be in a rush if that stresses you out - give yourself extra time, don’t talk to that person that always makes you feel bad for a few days, make sure your fridge is stocked with all kinds of good food so you feel supported, etc.)
over time this program works by giving your body the safe conditions it needs to process and release emotions, energy, tension and stress that it just didn’t have time or energy to deal with when it had to be stored - we know energy is neither created or destroyed so all that energy in the form of stress just needs to be transformed - it can be released through breath, yawns, sighs, shaking, crying, bowel movements, sweating, even talking / singing
wellness is all about steady motion, like a sweet and slow moving river - never clinging to the sides of the river bank
trust that beneath all the stress is your intuition and that is the true gift of peace and guidance that you will be able to tap into after repeating these practices and principles
THE PRACTICES
The morning breathwork practice involves energizing the body, opening the heart meridian channels, bringing the body into heart coherence and finally promoting relaxation and focus.
The evening somatic release involves freeing up tension in the hips which is where we engage the “fight or flight” response and store tension easiest. It also regulates the nervous system and prepares the body for restorative sleep - which is when all the healing integrates.
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Instructions to do the practice on your own, without the recording:
Priming Breath: Inhale bringing both arms up over the head and opening your hands wide. Exhale to swiftly bring your arms down, elbows towards your sides and fists closed. Repeat 10 times.
Excavating Visualization: Zoom into your body and notice any areas of heaviness or tension. Bring your hands to that area if you can and take a few breaths to just be with that sensation, noticing if it changes or brings anything to mind. Now imagine that area is holding a rock, or mud or any visualization of matter. Imagine taking that stone or mud or matter out of your body and placing it down. You don’t need to carry it today.
Priming Breath - same as above
Favourite Memory or Gratitude Visualization: Bring your hands to your heart and think of someone or something you love so much you can feel it, or something you are very grateful for right now. Bring to mind one of your favourite memories of all time. One that makes you feel so much love. Hold it and enjoy it for a few breaths.
Priming Breath - same as above
Physiological Sigh: Inhale through your nose to the top of your lungs and then take one additional sip of breath to fill up even more. Exhale slowly, through your mouth, completely empty the air from your lungs. Repeat for 2 minutes.
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Instructions to do this practice on your own, without the recording:
get into comfy, non restrictive clothes and crawl into bed (on top or under covers, doesn't matter)
make sure to move your pillow so you are lying flat on your back
allow your body to become heavy and “lazy” like you are going to do this practice with low effort, low pressure, like you're lying in the sun without a care in the world - the opposite of your fitness efforts
bring your arms and hands face down on the mattress beside your body
start by pointing and flexing your feet towards and away from you until you feel a gentle rocking motion in your whole body up + down - about 3 or 4 breaths
roll your head heavy side to side to release your neck - 3 or 4 breaths
bend your knees, bring your feet flat on the mattress and then roll legs side to side to warm up the hips
with feet together let your knees open to the side as wide as possible and then slowly bring them back together to touch - repeat up to 10 times - shaking in your hips + thigh muscles is a good sign
bring your left ankle to the top of your right thigh for a figure four stretch - illustrated below - 3 breaths
allow both legs to lower to the right side for a twist
repeat with the other leg and the other side twist
roll your head side to side again
hug shoulders with opposite hands for a full upper body squeeze
swipe your entire body with your hands like your wiping off sand - it feels so good
finally - engage your whole body from feet up to face by squeezing every muscle and then releasing - repeat 3 times
day 1
wake up at your set time
get sunlight in your eyes right away
do morning breathwork in bed (or wherever feels best)
mindset focus: begin upgrading your self image - this is a key component of this program - you will need perceive yourself as someone who is capable and worthy of a less stressful life. We will work with inner dialogue and affirmations but you must believe them for them to work. If it’s too unbelievable to say “I am stress free” then don’t use those types of affirmations. Say something truthful, like “I want to be someone who is capable of ____”
Try this affirmation at the end of your breathwork - “I want to be someone who can be calm even when it’s stressful.” or create your own
manage blood sugar levels + drink lots of water
journalling focus: “what comes up when I try to imagine myself as a calm person?”
do the evening somatic release practice
Day 2
wake up at your set time
get sunlight in your eyes right away
do morning breathwork in bed (or wherever feels best)
mindset focus: imagine today that you are tapped into the universal energy that guides all living things to breath, to grow, to live. Practice reminding yourself of that energy, trusting that guidance and open yourself up to receive downloads of how you should best use your energy.
Try this affirmation at the end of your breathwork - “I am open to receive guidance.”
manage blood sugar levels + drink lots of water
journalling focus: “What comes up when I try to imagine myself being guided? what if I didn’t have to come up with every solution on my own? What would that feel like? Why can I trust that? Why can’t I trust that?”
do the evening somatic release practice
BONUS PRACTICE: if you feel anger or irritability arise at any time throughout these 5 days try the pillow slam to move it through your body. Stand with your pillow above your head and then simply throw it down to the floor in front of you. It doesn’t have to be forceful - just the general movement of your arms from above your head down to your sides helps stimulate the heart meridian channel and release energy.
Day 3
wake up at your set time
get sunlight in your eyes right away
do morning breathwork in bed (or wherever feels best)
mindset focus: move into deserving - its a key element within feminine energy as you will not be able to receive downloads or the life you desire if you don’t deeply believe that you deserve it
Try this affirmation at the end of your breathwork - “I deserve a soft life.”
manage blood sugar levels + drink lots of water
journalling focus: “Why wouldn’t I deserve a soft life? What would it feel like if I knew I deserved a soft life? What would change if I had a soft life?”
do the evening somatic release practice
BONUS PRACTICE: Breathwork for emotional release to move even more if you feel ready
Day 4
wake up at your set time
get sunlight in your eyes right away
do morning breathwork in bed (or wherever feels best)
mindset focus: forgiveness - we can often feel guilty for being stressed and for the ways we behave when we’re stressed - this is your chance to truly forgive and move on, you are taking the steps necessary to be the better version of yourself
Try this affirmation at the end of your breathwork - “I forgive myself and accept myself fully” or “I forgive myself and I’m working towards accepting myself fully”
manage blood sugar levels + drink lots of water
journalling focus: “What do I need to forgive in myself?”
do the evening somatic release practice
BONUS PRACTICE: Wall push to release frustration - stand in a lunge facing a wall and push with both hands steady and hard into the wall. Stand firm in your power stance against the wall with arms and leg steady - push away the anger, find your power - press as hard as you can into the wall - its not going anywhere - notice the fierceness with compassion - let it comes out in this way, in a safe container to feel
Day 5
wake up at your set time
get sunlight in your eyes right away
do morning breathwork in bed (or wherever feels best)
mindset focus: Compassion - its not about protecting yourself from stress because protection is a constricting feeling in general - it’s about devoting yourself to a higher frequency feeling or a choosing a stand that you can step onto to overcome your challenges - like power, love, patience, softness, grace - act from that place throughout the day.
Try this affirmation at the end of your breathwork - “I choose to act from a place of grace today, no matter what.” (insert whatever word you feel most drawn to)
manage blood sugar levels + drink lots of water
journalling focus: “What am I devoted to?”
do the evening somatic release practice
BONUS PRACTICE: Qi Swing - standing tall, bounce up and down on your toes and then standing firm swing your arms side to side letting your hands tap your body as you swing in this gentle twist. Both these movements allow the qi (chi, or energy) to flow and are a great way to complete a cortisol cycle if you find yourself triggered at any point. Also shaking out your hands and arms does the same thing as well as deep sighs.
YOU DID IT!!!
5 days of loving focus - you should be very proud - I’m proud of you! ❤️
FAQ
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If you miss more than 2 days in a row start from the beginning, this can be done any time it feels good for you
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Yes, you could be releasing years of stored emotions and stress. Let any and all emotions and feelings come through - even if they don’t make sense - you will feel so much better afterwards. Try not to judge the process until the end of 5 days. You may bring up things to process, which may feel uncomfortable and it may take a few days to process and release. Trust the process!
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Repeat from day 1. You may need practice to get into a truly safe space in your body to truly release. Your body hods onto stress as. way to protect you and it will keep protecting you until it knows you are truly safe. This is the continuous practice.
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Yes, some stress will build before it releases.
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Changes in digestion or bowel movements, vivid dreams, excess thirst, fatigue, irritability, lots of yawning. Afterwards you may notice changes in appetite, increased energy levels, changes in weight, mood, being more in tune with your true essence or intuition and therefore not feeling guided by stress which can affect who and what you are naturally drawn to spend time with - generally, more freedom and love!
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There’s NO way to do this wrong. Showing up for your body and giving it the time and space and encouragement to release is all you need to do - it’s actually your body that does the rest, you’re just getting out of the way for your inner healing to come through.
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Linked below - there’s a spotify playlist mainly for daytime use (alpha wave). If you’d like nightime binaural beat for sleep go to spotify and search for “theta wave” binaural beats.
LEARN MORE ABOUT CORTISOL
What is cortisol?
Cortisol is known as the "stress hormone" and plays a crucial role in your body's response to stress. When cortisol levels are out of balance, it can lead to fatigue, weight gain, mood swings, and even chronic illnesses.
Click below to download a full ebook on cortisol and how it affects your hormones and the tension you feel in your body, linked below.
What are the benefits of reseting cortisol levels?
Boost Energy Levels: By resetting your cortisol levels, you'll experience a natural surge in energy, allowing you to tackle your day without a mid day slump.
Improve Mood and Mental Clarity: No more brain fog and mood swings. Balancing cortisol levels can enhance mental clarity, focus, and mood stability, helping you feel more positive and productive.
Enhance Sleep Quality: Restore your body's natural sleep-wake cycle. By resetting cortisol, you'll promote deeper, more restorative sleep, waking up feeling more rejuvenated each morning.
Support Weight Management: This reset is key to a healthier metabolism. Cortisol imbalances can contribute to weight gain, especially around the midsection. By resetting cortisol levels, you'll support your body's ability to maintain a healthy weight more effectively. When you’re in stress (aka fight or flight) your biology naturally wants to protect you and store fat in case of emergency - we need to reassure the body that you are safe so that your body can bring you back to your ideal size.
More learning below
Online Articles and Websites
Harvard Health Publishing: "Cortisol — Its Role in Stress, Inflammation, and Indications for Diet Therapy"
Scientific Research Papers
The Effects of Chronic Stress on Health: New Insights into the Molecular Mechanisms of Brain–Body Communication by Bruce S. McEwen
Podcasts and Interviews
The Huberman Lab Podcast: Episode on stress, cortisol, and optimizing health
Funktional Nutritionist: All your Cortisol Questions Answered
The Happy Hormone Club Podcast: Cortisol 101: The Highs, The Lows and Symptoms
