Breathing Techniques
The 4-7-8 Exercise
This breathing exercise is a natural tranquilizer for the nervous system. Though the effects may be subtle when you first try it, this practice gains power with repetition and practice. The ratio of 4:7:8 is important, and the practice is simple and can be done anywhere.
Step 1. Place the tip of your tongue against the ridge of tissue just behind your upper front teeth. Hold it there throughout the entire exercise.
Step 2. Close your mouth and inhale quietly through your nose to a mental count of four.
Step 3. Hold your breath for a count of seven.
Step 4. Exhale completely through your mouth, making a “whoosh” sound to a count of eight. Exhale through your mouth around your tongue; try pursing your lips slightly if this seems awkward. Exhalation takes twice as long as inhalation
Step 5. Repeat the cycle three more times for a total of four breaths.
Box Breathing
You can use this technique to calm your thoughts, slow your heart rate, and soothe your nervous system.
Step 1. Inhale for a count of 5.
Step 2. Hold that breath for a count of 5.
Step 3. Exhale all the breath from the lungs for a count of 5.
Step 4. Hold the exhale for a count of 5.
Step 5. Repeat.
Progressive muscle relaxation
Start with your toes and work your way up to your head. Slowly tighten – hold – and then relax your muscle in groups (feet, legs, buttocks, abdomen, shoulders, arms, hands, face). This type of body scan exercise is also great for helping you relax during a stressful moment and will help you fall asleep.
Mini-meditation
Even 2-5 minutes of meditation is enough to calm your mind and help you feel more focused and relaxed. Meditation is simply the act of letting your thoughts roll through your mind without focusing on any one thought in particular. When you are able to let your thoughts go in the moment, trusting that the thought will return, if and when you need it, you are meditating.
Visualization
Sit quietly and mentally rehearse a task you want to master or a situation you want to find yourself in. Another name for this is daydreaming. Taking the time to imagine yourself reaching a goal, having a difficult conversation, overcoming a fear and feeling how you would feel is very powerful. When you feel a certain way, excited, relieved, satisfied, smart, revel in it and re-visit the feeling often.
Change of scenery
Get up and move your body. Stretch, take a short walk, run up and down the stairs, step outside and feel the sunshine on your face. By taking a moment to change the situation, you’ll see things with different clarity and understanding.
Let it out
Laugh with a friend. Do 20 jumping jacks. Put on your favorite song and dance. Anything that helps you release energy in a positive way.
Activate your senses
Look around and find:
- 5 things you can see
- 4 things you can hear
- 3 things you can touch
- 2 things you can smell
- 1 thing you can taste.
Your sensing processors all live in the gray matter part of your brain, apart from the emotional center. By activating one of your senses, you’ll pull yourself out of your emotional center into the part of your brain that is logical and interested in learning. This 5-4-3-2-1 technique is well known to help people break out of a cycle of anxiety.
