This simple 10 minute breathing exercise can be done from your office chair, your bed or the couch. It’s most helpful if you develop a routine time to practice each day to establish a habit. This breathing technique, called “4-part Breathing,” also known as “Box Breathing,” is helpful in calming stress and anxiety. It’s especially effective before bed and can help you sleep because it helps take your mind off those racing thoughts.
Technique:
Sit or lie down comfortably. Close your eyes.
Begin by inhaling through your nose and into your belly for a count of 4.
Hold the breath for a count of 4.
Exhale through your nose (or mouth if that feels more natural) for a count of 4.
Pause for a count of 4.
Repeat.
Don’t try too hard!
Why this helps:
The “fight or flight” response is what the body does when it prepares to confront or avoid danger, but problems arise when this response is constantly provoked by less significant events like money fears, traffic, job worries, relationship problems, and sitting on hold with AT&T, and so on. We can’t avoid all the stresses in our lives, but we can develop healthier ways to respond to them and one of these ways is to learn to invoke the “relaxation response,” and the first step to this is deep breathing.
According to Harvard Health Publications, “Shallow breathing limits the diaphragm's range of motion. The lowest part of the lungs doesn't get a full share of oxygenated air. That can make you feel short of breath and anxious. Deep abdominal breathing encourages full oxygen exchange — that is, the beneficial trade of incoming oxygen for outgoing carbon dioxide. Not surprisingly, it can slow the heartbeat and lower or stabilize blood pressure.”
If you find this breathing practice activating or too fast, you can slow down your counts or hold each aspect of the breath for 6 counts.
Self care practices are critical for learning to regulate your nervous system, boosting your immune system, keeping your mind and body healthy, and finding relief from physical symptoms of anxiety and stress. To learn more about how to find your own, personalized self care practices that feel authentic to you, read “What Is Self Care? How to Prioritize Your Wellbeing in Daily Life.”