Step 1
Check-in on your week: stress spikes, crashes, moments of calm, and sleep.
Mindfulness & Stress Recovery
Train your nervous system to come down, not just your thoughts.
Mindfulness isn’t just about sitting still and trying not to think. For high-output humans, it’s about teaching your body and brain how to recover from stress so you can show up clear, steady, and present when it matters. If you’ve tried meditation apps, breathing exercises, or “being more mindful” and still feel wired, numb, or on edge, you’re not alone. Brandon helps you build a practical mindfulness and stress recovery practice that works with your nervous system and your real life—not against it.
What this really feels like
When stress piles up and recovery never really happens, it doesn’t just feel like a busy season. You might think you’re just bad at relaxing, weak for needing breaks, or simply not a mindfulness person. In reality, your nervous system is stuck in a pattern that hasn’t been given a real chance to change.
On the outside
- Your mind races at night even when your body is exhausted.
- You keep replaying conversations, decisions, and worst-case scenarios.
- You’re physically present with people you care about, but mentally somewhere else.
- You scroll, snack, or binge shows to unwind, but don’t feel restored afterward.
On the inside
- Mindfulness, meditation, or breathwork sound good, but you either can’t stick with them or feel like they don’t work for you.
- Holidays, vacations, or days off don’t turn your stress all the way down—you just feel tired in a different location.
- You’re starting to feel like your baseline is tight shoulders, shallow breathing, and a brain that won’t shut off.
Why quick fixes have not worked
Most mindfulness and stress advice skips the messy middle. These tools can be helpful, but they often miss the full picture of your nervous system, schedule, and history. If you slap a single mindfulness tool on top of a system that never truly rests, you usually end up feeling like you failed at relaxing instead of realizing the tool wasn’t matched to where your body is. Brandon’s work is about building mindfulness and stress recovery from the body outward—so your nervous system has a path out of stress, not just good intentions.
What’s really going on:
- Your nervous system may have been stuck in high alert (fight/flight) or shutdown (freeze) for years.
- Your schedule and responsibilities might leave little space for long, quiet practices.
- Your brain may have learned that stillness is time to worry more, not less.
- Your body might need movement-based or eyes-open practices before classic meditation is even tolerable.
- Your recovery time may be full of stimulation—news, social media, problem-solving—which keeps your system revved.
How Brandon works with mindfulness & stress recovery
Instead of forcing you into a one-size-fits-all meditation routine, Brandon uses a nervous-system–first approach that respects your life, history, and capacity.
4-step process
1
Clarify your stress & recovery pattern
Map how stress actually shows up: tightness, racing thoughts, shutdown, irritability, numbness, headaches, gut issues, sleep changes. You’ll look at when it spikes, what you reach for to cope, how you currently come down (or don’t), and what your days and weeks really look like.
2
Spot your nervous-system levers
Identify what keeps your system stuck on high: constant notifications, emotional load, perfectionism, pain, overtraining, under-recovery, or never having true off-time. You’ll also identify what already helps you feel even slightly safer or more grounded—even if it’s small or inconsistent.
3
Test the right kind of mindfulness
Experiment with practices that fit your nervous system and context: movement-based mindfulness, short body scans, breath or vision drills, micro-pauses between tasks, or very short sits rather than long sessions. The goal is not to become a monk—it’s to find what actually helps your body and brain shift gears.
4
Build a stress recovery rhythm
Create daily and weekly rhythms that support recovery: realistic off switches, transition rituals between roles, simple practices you can use in the middle of tough days, and a baseline of nervous-system care that doesn’t fall apart every time life gets busy. Mindfulness becomes part of how you live, not an extra chore.
What progress can look like
Mindfulness and stress recovery aren’t about never feeling stressed again. They’re about changing what your system does after stress hits. You’ll still have hard days. The difference is that your system has ways to come back down instead of living stuck there.
Falling asleep more easily and staying asleep more often.
Feeling less on edge in everyday situations.
Being able to notice stress building earlier, instead of only seeing it when you crash.
Using simple practices in real time (before a meeting, after a game, between roles) instead of only on days off.
More moments of feeling actually present—with a partner, kids, friends, or training—rather than half-checked-out.
A quieter inner pressure to always be doing something.
What to expect in a session
Sessions are meant to feel like a reset, not another performance review. You don’t have to arrive calm or composed. You don’t need to arrive with perfect logs or a daily meditation streak—you just need to be honest about how stress is showing up and what you’ve already tried.
Format1:1 coaching via secure video (or in-person when available).
LengthApproximately 50 minutes for a standard session.
Shape of a typical session:
Step 2
Review of any practices you tried: what felt supportive, pointless, or overwhelming.
Step 3
Discussion of what your nervous system might be responding to—and how that shows up in your body and behavior.
Step 4
Agreement on one to three realistic mindfulness or stress recovery practices to test (often 1–10 minutes, not an hour a day).
About Your Coach
Meet Brandon Day
Brandon Day is a Pain and Performance Coach who works at the intersection of the nervous system, movement, and real-world demands. He’s not a therapist or spiritual teacher. His focus is helping high-performing, high-caring humans—founders, professionals, athletes, caregivers—build practical mindfulness and stress recovery skills that support their body, brain, and goals. He understands that just relax isn’t a plan, and that many people feel like they’re failing at mindfulness before they’ve ever had a chance to do it in a way that fits them. Sessions with Brandon are grounded, curious, and shame-free.
Focus Areas
Mindfulness and stress recovery, chronic stress and burnout, pain and performance, nervous-system regulation, sustainable training and work, long-term habit change.
How He Works
1:1 remote sessions, nervous-system–informed tools instead of generic tips, small experiments rather than rigid routines, planning that accounts for your real schedule and responsibilities, coordination with therapists or medical providers when helpful.
What Clients Say
“I thought I was just bad at meditation. Working with Brandon, we figured out practices that actually worked for my body and my life. I still get stressed, but I don’t stay stuck there the way I used to.”
Common Questions
Common Questions
Is this therapy or mental health treatment?
No. Brandon’s work is in the coaching and education space. He helps you understand your stress patterns, work with your nervous system, and build recovery practices into your life. He does not diagnose mental health conditions, process trauma as a therapist would, or provide psychotherapy. If you’re dealing with significant anxiety, depression, trauma, or other mental-health concerns, coaching can complement—but not replace—therapy or psychiatric care.
What if I’ve tried meditation and failed?
You’re not alone. Many clients arrive convinced they’re bad at mindfulness. Often, the problem isn’t you—it’s that the practices you tried weren’t matched to your nervous system state or your context. You may need shorter practices, eyes-open work, movement-based mindfulness, or different timing. Coaching focuses on finding what works for you, not forcing you into a single model.
Do I have to meditate every day for this to work?
No. Consistency matters, but daily 20-minute sits aren’t the only way to build mindfulness and stress recovery. You might start with a few minutes a couple of days a week, or with micro-practices embedded in transitions you’re already doing. The goal is to build a realistic rhythm that you can sustain, not to win a streak counter.
What if I’m already in therapy?
That’s common—and often ideal. Therapy can help you understand and process your stories, emotions, and past experiences. Coaching with Brandon can sit alongside that by focusing on your nervous system, body, habits, and day-to-day practices. With your permission, he can coordinate with your therapist if that’s useful.
Is this religious or spiritual?
No. Some mindfulness traditions come from spiritual or religious roots, but Brandon’s approach is grounded in nervous-system science, attention, and behavior change. You’re welcome to bring your own beliefs into the work if you like, but nothing in the process requires you to adopt any specific spiritual framework.
How many sessions will I need?
It depends on how long you’ve been running in high gear, what else is going on (pain, burnout, sleep, performance goals), and what you want to change. Some people find a short series of three to six sessions helpful to build a foundation. Others work with Brandon over a 100-day sprint or longer as part of a broader reset. You’ll discuss a realistic path after your first session.
Are sessions remote or in-person?
Sessions are primarily held online via secure video, which works well for nervous-system and mindfulness work—you can join from the environment you actually live in. If you’re local and interested in in-person sessions, you can mention that in your intake form, and Brandon will let you know what’s available.
You don’t have to live in permanent on mode.
Stress isn’t going away. But the way your system responds to it can change. Mindfulness and stress recovery don’t have to mean sitting perfectly still, emptying your mind, or pretending you’re not under pressure.
You don’t have to keep telling yourself to relax while your body does the opposite. If you’re ready to build practical, nervous-system–friendly ways to come down from stress and feel more present in your own life, Brandon is here to help.