The 3 Minute Breathing Space

Breathing is a natural response to quiet your physical body and refocus your mind. When you are under stress, your breathing becomes shallow and inefficient. When you relax you breathe more deeply.

You can capitalize on this human tendency by exercising conscious control over your breathing when you find yourself stressed during the day.

This exercise takes about 3 minutes.

Start by bringing your attention to your breath. Allow your breath to occur as it normally does but pay attention to its rhythm. Notice how the breath feels as it enters your lungs and expands your torso. Feel the breath all the way to the bottom of the lungs causing your stomach to slightly rise on the inbreath and fall back on the outbreath.

Notice 4 or 5 full breaths.

Next take some time to notice the situation you are experiencing, trying not to over-react or under-react to the circumstances. If your thinking is distorted by a fight or flight response try to notice those thoughts and remember that they are influenced by the stress you are feeling.

Let your thoughts expand to include other options beyond reactions from anger or fear. What other ways can you think about to deal with the situation? Look for a reasonable approach to deal with the situation.

Now let your attention come back to your breath again. Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow the pace of your breath if it seems to still be rapid or shallow. Follow through with the actions that you identified during the 3 minute breathing space.