Box Breathing
Box Breathing is an exercise we do to bring awareness to our breathing.
It’s one form of managing stressful situations and also resetting our nervous system.
The breath is magical. It’s the one thing we have from the very beginning to the endpoint of our physical life. Most of the time, we pay no attention to it, and that’s fine, too. But, when we can bring awareness to breathing, we harness our power to calm our mind and our body at the same time.
Paying attention to our breathing has several benefits.
First, it reminds us that we’re alive and present in our bodies. In turn, that allows us to make some choices to respond to the stress cycle of a fight, flight, or freeze.
Second, we send a message to our nervous system by slowing down our breathing to bring us back into balance.
One of my favorite books is Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Unfortunately, my first copy is now yellowed, but subsequent editions offer the same information and instructions I’d like to share with you. But, of course, we can talk about that provocative title another time.
First, there’s nothing special you need to do this type of breathing
You can do this while
sitting,
standing,
walking,
in your car,
or at the grocery store.
But for our purposes, we’re going to do this while sitting comfortably. So plan to give yourself about 5 minutes.
I’ve added a graphic that might help you with the pace.
The cadence is to the count of 4:
We inhale while counting to 4.
Pause for 4.
Exhale to the count of 4,
and pause again at the end of the exhale.
Begin by getting into a comfortable position.
I do recommend finding a way to keep your spine straight instead of a slumped posture. We want the lungs to be able to expand as well as the abdomen fully.
You are welcome to keep your eyes open and follow the graphic. If you don’t use the picture, soften your gaze by looking down or at something in your environment. Closing your eyes is also lovely. You choose.
Let’s begin.