What is being retrained
Stress isn't the enemy. Getting stuck is.
Your nervous system is built to move through all of these states. A resilient system rises to meet a challenge, then settles back down. The trouble starts when it loses that flexibility and can't find its way back.
Calm and connected
Settled, present, clear-thinking, able to rest and connect. The state a flexible system returns to once a challenge has passed.
Alert and engaged
Focused, energised, ready to act. Exactly right for a deadline, as long as you can come back down afterwards.
Activated
Fight or flight. Vital in real danger and normal under pressure. It only becomes a problem when it won't switch off.
Shut down
Flat, numb, withdrawn. A protective response when things feel like too much, but not somewhere a resilient system should get stuck.
The goal was never to live in calm forever. It's to restore the range, so you can rise when you need to and come back down when you don't.
What the program works on
Two things at once, because they hold each other in place.
A stress response that stays switched on changes how a person breathes. Breathing that has changed keeps the stress response switched on. The program works on both ends of that loop, and measures both.
- Nervous system regulation
- How readily the system fires, and how quickly it comes back down afterwards. Stress reactivity, recovery time, sleep, and where you already wear something that tracks resting heart rate or HRV, those trends too.
- Respiratory function
- How you breathe when you aren't thinking about it. Pattern, rate and depth, CO₂ tolerance, breathing mechanics assessed with a structured questionnaire and observation, and nasal function.
How it works
Measure, agree the road map, then do the work.
Nothing is priced or promised before the baseline exists. The free chat comes first because the number of sessions depends on what it finds, and so does the cost.
The first chat
A structured breathing assessment and a read on where your stress sits, plus the history behind both. This is the baseline everything later is measured against.
Your road map
What the baseline calls for, how many sessions that is, and what it costs. You see the whole plan and the whole price before you commit to any of it.
Sessions and practice
One to one, with short daily practice in between, which is where most of the change actually happens. The technique progresses as your tolerance does.
Re-measure
The same assessments, run again against the same baseline. If the numbers haven't moved, that's a fact rather than an opinion, and it's what the guarantee turns on.
What it costs
Know the full cost before you start, not halfway through.
From $950
Five one-to-one sessions · in person at Currumbin Valley or online
Five sessions is where the program starts, and for most people it's where it finishes. The nervous system has to be moved gently, in steps that suit the person, so five is a floor rather than a target to beat.
Some people need more, occasionally as many as twelve, usually where the baseline is a long way out or there's a lot of history underneath it. The first chat tells me, and I'll say so then rather than discovering it halfway through. Sessions beyond five are added one at a time at the standard rate. Nothing larger is bundled up front.
Book your free 25-minute chatDo the work, and your stress comes down. Or you don't pay.
If you follow the program, implement the steps, and the assessments don't show a reduction in your stress, I'll refund you. I can stand behind that because I measure it, for both of us to see. The guarantee applies to the Stress Breath Program and the Wellbeing Mentoring Program, where the work is measured from a baseline through to a re-assessment. It doesn't apply to a one-off private session or the group meditation course, because neither is measured that way.
In their words
People who did this particular piece of work.
★★★★★"I feel so much calmer. My breathing has improved significantly and I'm sleeping better. Rich clearly has a deep understanding of the breath and how it affects the whole body."
Jen Nelmes
★★★★★"Rich's program helped me understand why I was so stressed and anxious. Within weeks I noticed a huge difference: calmer, clearer, more in control of how I respond to pressure."
Elyse McNeilClinical Psychologist
★★★★★"I've had so many long-COVID symptoms ease up as a direct result of this breathwork. I feel so lucky to have found Rich."
M. Daly
Shared with permission. Individual experiences, not medical claims. This work sits alongside professional care, not in place of it.
Honest answers
The questions people ask about this program.
Why can't you just tell me the price?
Five sessions is $950 and that is the price for most people. It says "from" because a minority need more, and quoting a single figure that later grows is worse than saying so up front. You'll have the full number in writing after the first chat, before you commit to anything.
How much daily practice does it take?
It depends on your nervous system and where you are starting from. For some people it is as little as ten minutes a day. Consistency matters more than duration; the nervous system responds to repetition, not intensity. If protecting that time is unrealistic right now, say so on the call. It changes what I recommend.
What is actually being measured?
A structured breathing assessment covering pattern, mechanics, nasal function and CO₂ tolerance, alongside your stress markers. The same set is run at the start and end against the same baseline. If you already wear something that tracks resting heart rate or HRV, I'll use those trends too.
How is this different from therapy?
Therapy works through conversation, insight and meaning. This works on the physiology directly: the breathing pattern and the recovery capacity underneath it. They complement each other, and plenty of people do both at once.
Do I have to meditate?
No. This program is breath and regulation work. The meditation practice is a separate course if you want it, and the two run together as the Wellbeing Mentoring Program.
How long does it take?
Five sessions weekly or fortnightly, so most people are through in six to twelve weeks. Deeper rewiring is a months-long process. I'll tell you what's realistic for your situation on the first call.
Not sure where to start?
Don't guess. Have a free 25-minute chat first.
I value your time and my own. If you're unsure which option fits, or whether now is the right moment, it's worth finding out before either of us commits. There is nothing to buy on the call. You leave with your numbers and a recommended path, and sometimes the recommendation is none of the four.
Book your free 25-minute chat