Build your Emotional Fitness

At 5th Place we enable children, youth, adults and the earth to become and remain emotionally fit.

Welcome to 5th Place

Join us in our mission to make the world a better place.

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Hi there! We are Matthew & Chantal and our mission at 5th Place is to make the world a better place by "enabling the how..."

How to be less stressed... how to be more calm... how to feel less anxious... how to get better sleep... how to to not feel guilty when I choose me... and so on...

Building emotional fitness is a journey. Wherever you are on your journey, we invite you to join us in making your world and the world a better place!

Supporting physical and emotional wellbeing, at scale

At 5th Place we support the physical and emotional wellbeing of children, youth, adults and the earth by enabling and educating them on how to build emotional fitness, at scale. Explore the history of 5th Place, our model for emotion regulation called "Shape of Emotion" and the qualities and principles that are part of our broader body of work.

Children & youth

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Shape of Emotion

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Qualities and principles

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Stay up to date with "Enabling the how" our weekly publication

In a world consumed by the “What” we “Enable your How…” to
make the world a better place.

Join us, Chantal and Matthew, in our escapades every week as we stumble and trip, dance and whirl our way through very normal and not so normal weeks in our drive to make the world a better place.

This “How” comes in many different forms and in this case it comes in the form of sharing life, loves, and loss. It’s also a whole lot of what living is like in South Africa. We look at how to better manage the excessive stresses and challenges experienced at the tip of Africa through the lenses of the pillars, qualities and principles of 5th Place.

Come laugh and cry, learn and yearn, and enjoy some light reflection from a part of the world that you know only too well or not at all. We invite you to subscribe below.

Lean into not knowing

Lean into not knowing

By 5th Place

A sticky unflowing week full of loose ends and not knowing made us feel scratchy and uncomfortable. When we let go and leaned into it, not knowing ended up having quite surprising results.

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Small changes, big impact

Small changes, big impact

By 5th Place

A big toe has to be corrected to impact the rest of the leg, hip and back. Small incremental changes will make a big difference, as they always do, if we accept that it starts with me.

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Coming full circle

Coming full circle

By 5th Place

A shared study reconnects us with an old friend who entices us to do some work with his group of social workers. We find ourselves coming full circle back at a school in Soweto.

Read more...

Listen to our Podcast "Emotions Matter. Really!"

In our podcast we explore everything about emotions, feelings, and
what it is to become and remain emotionally fit.

We believe that, although our emotions have been made the underdog to our analytical, rational minds, our emotions underpin everything we do and are. Emotions do matter. Emotions separate and connect us, they drive our behaviour and decision making, they allow us to thrive or barely survive.

We want to bring people back to the intelligence of their bodies, to connect to their feelings and, working with the information they offer, take steps to build their emotional fitness and make the world a better place.

Together we have combined decades of personal journeying, studying, working, research and guidance into our approach and process that we will share with you.

5th Place Emotional Fitness College

Our Emotional Fitness College offers a number of courses for you to build your Emotional Fitness.
Currently we support overall emotional fitness and anxiety.

The original Emotional Fitness Class

For a healthier, happier, more engaged you.

How to master your emotions

Learn how to feel better by learning how to feel, better.

Emotional Fitness Class for anxiety

Instant relief from anxiety. Go from wound up to calmed down.

Today's accomplishments were yesterday’s impossibilities.
—Robert H. Schuller