Ritual Cards
Four categories of energy regulation practices: Upregulate, Downregulate, Integrate, and Bonus.
Ritual cards are short, body-based practices. Each one takes a few minutes and is designed to shift something in your nervous system — not just your mind.
Cards are always free to browse and use. They're the foundation of Alfie.
The Four Categories
Upregulate
I’ve been stuck in my head. I need to move.
A splash of cold water. A shake. A walk around the block. When your mind won’t stop spinning, your body already knows the way out.
Downregulate
I’m overwhelmed. I need to slow down.
Settle in. Be present with your body for a moment. With curiosity, not force. Sometimes that’s a breath. Sometimes it’s just changing the space you’re in.
Integrate
I want to sit with this. I want to make sense of it.
Reflect. Journal. Send a friend a voice note. Some things need space to land before they integrate. Before the past experience becomes forward momentum.
Bonus
I’m clear-headed. I want to do something for someone.
Small acts of care. For future you, or for someone else. Clean a corner. Send that message. The kind of thing you might feel like you don’t do enough of. Even though you do.
What's on a Card
ISOMA Channels
Each card shows which sensory channels the practice engages. ISOMA comes from Organic Intelligence, a trauma-informed regulation framework:
- Image — Visual or imaginative elements
- Sensation — Physical feeling and body awareness
- Orientation — Noticing your environment and where you are in space
- Meaning — Sense-making, narrative, and reflection
- Affect — Emotional awareness and expression
Some cards light up one channel. Others engage several. This helps you find practices that match how you process — some people regulate best through movement (Sensation), others through visualisation (Image), others through making sense of things (Meaning).
Energy Cost
A simple 1–3 dot rating. Some days you have three dots of energy. Some days you have one. The rating helps you find a practice that fits what you've actually got — not what you wish you had.
This idea comes from Spoon Theory, a way of thinking about limited daily energy that resonates with many neurodivergent and chronically ill people.
Time Range
How long the practice typically takes. Most cards are 2–15 minutes. You can always stop early or go longer — the time is a guide, not a rule.
How Cards Find You
There are a few ways cards surface:
- Check-in — Tell Alfie how you're feeling. It suggests cards that match your current state.
- Browse — Open the compass (Matrix Picker) and explore by category and energy level.
- Stacks — Collections of cards you've saved for specific moments. See Stacks.
- Dynamic Zone — Your home screen shows a curated stack based on the time of day and your recent patterns.