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Author · Rosalind Achebe

Rosalind Achebe writes about how energy rises and falls across an ordinary day. She is interested in what the body actually notices at seven in the morning and at three in the afternoon, and in describing those hours plainly rather than prescribing anything about them.

What My Chest Does Before I Know I Am Nervous - breath & quiet
Breath & Quiet

What My Chest Does Before I Know I Am Nervous

The body seems to register nerves before the mind catches on, and the first sign is never where I expect it.

The Long Exhale on the Walk Home - breath & quiet
Breath & Quiet

The Long Exhale on the Walk Home

Something changes in my breathing about four minutes into the walk from the train station, and I have started timing it.

The Quiet Lightness After a Bowl of Something Simple - food & fuel
Food & Fuel

The Quiet Lightness After a Bowl of Something Simple

There is a particular clarity that follows a plain meal, one I only noticed after years of not paying attention to it…

Why 'I'm Fine, Just Tired' Sometimes Means Something Else Entirely - listening to tired
Listening to Tired

Why ‘I’m Fine, Just Tired’ Sometimes Means Something Else Entirely

Tired is the word we reach for when we don't want to explain further. But underneath it there is usually a more…

What Your Hands Do When You're Tired in Different Ways - listening to tired
Listening to Tired

What Your Hands Do When You’re Tired in Different Ways

Sleepy hands fumble. Worn out hands go heavy. Drained hands go still. The small, unconscious things your hands do are one of…

Sitting Still on Purpose Versus Sitting Still Because You Collapsed - rest that works
Rest That Works

Sitting Still on Purpose Versus Sitting Still Because You Collapsed

Two people can sit in the same chair for the same ten minutes and get completely different things out of it. One…

Why Cold Water Wakes My Whole Body Up After Eating - food & fuel
Food & Fuel

Why Cold Water Wakes My Whole Body Up After Eating

A glass of cold water after a meal does something I cannot fully explain, but I have felt it enough times now…

The Ten Minutes Before I Leave the Apartment - moving the body
Moving the Body

The Ten Minutes Before I Leave the Apartment

A short stretch by the front door, done in socks on cold hardwood, changes how the rest of my morning feels before…

How My Body Tells the Difference Between Alone and Lonely - breath & quiet
Breath & Quiet

How My Body Tells the Difference Between Alone and Lonely

Being by myself feels completely different in my chest depending on the day, and the difference shows up before I can name…