Odoki unfolds in three phases. These are not rigid stages, but they do follow a natural order. Skipping earlier phases tends to reduce effectiveness.

Regulation

The first phase focuses on nervous system regulation.

When the nervous system is highly activated — in fight, flight, or freeze — it is not receptive to insight. Regulation practices help bring the system into a range where learning and curiosity are possible.

These practices are simple and practical. Over time, they become familiar tools that can be used when stress or reactivity arises.

Sensing

The second phase develops the ability to sense what is happening internally.

This is not about analysing feelings, but about learning to stay present with embodied experience. Sensations, emotions, and moods are treated as information rather than problems to be solved.

As sensing becomes more refined, the nervous system begins to communicate more clearly. Subtle signals that were previously drowned out by thinking become accessible.

Inquiry

The third phase is inquiry.

Inquiry involves directing attention - carefully and precisely - to places where strong assumptions are being held. Often these assumptions relate to identity, safety, or control.

Inquiry is not introspection or self-analysis. It is a way of allowing the nervous system to notice what it is doing and why.

When inquiry lands, it often produces a felt shift. Something that was previously taken for granted is seen differently, and the system reorganises around that new understanding.