I have just uploaded some new content to the Odoki Method site. This content details some of the exercises I’ve been using with clients. I continue to be surprised with how well these exercises work. A common refrain I hear is, “I have never seen it that way before”.

There’s still plenty to do - documenting, learning, and more, but what has been striking is how quickly these exercises seem to work. Assuming the client is willing to engage with me, they work with negligible preparation, which, quite frankly, is quite hard to get my head around.

I am developing them working with colleagues, focusing on understanding anxiety, but I have used them in a range of contexts - including in a conversation with a teen after a physical exercise class, and with a friend’s son who was about to take their driving test for the fifth time (he passed!).

The key dynamic that these exercises use is the fact that when we imagine something, we feel the emotions associated with it. It doesn’t need to be happening in reality. And if we can experience the emotions associated with it, we can inquire about them and their nature, and what this shows us about how our inner life works. The aim is for the client to see and witness something clearly for themselves, rather than to tell them anything.

Whilst I learned these techniques in the midst of my own meditation, they aren’t meditation. They are simply, “close your eyes and see what you notice” exercises, which, evidence is showing, most people can engage with.

There are more to document, and undoubtedly more to discover.

If you find any of these exercises useful, please do contact me, I would love to hear about it. It may also be that there are other relevant exercises we can document that might also be useful to your case.