Just Breathe

September 17, 2018

"Take a deep breath." We all know to do this when we're feeling stressed. And it does work.

Deep breathing and meditation have been used for centuries as a way to calm the mind and achieve the feeling of centeredness. These techniques have been shown to lower blood pressure, decrease anxiety and depression and even relieve insomnia.

So if deep breathing is so good for us, why don't most of us do it? I often hear people say that they tried it, but they didn't keep up the practice because they felt like they "weren't good at it" because their mind wandered (it's OK!). I think some people don't do it because it seems a bit hokey and strange. Plus meditation is sort of an intangible, right?

That's why I love 4-7-8 breathing. To do this, you breathe in to the count of 4, hold your breath for the count of 7, and breathe out to the count of 8 (if you happened to have clicked that link and watched the video, know that you don't have to breathe out loudly like the guy in the video does -- I do it silently). 4-7-8 breathing is a very quick, simple way of calming the mind. I do it every night when I'm trying to fall asleep and cannot recommend it highly enough. It takes a little practice at first (sometimes it feels like you're running out of air), but you get better at it with time. To feel the most benefit, breathe out VERY fully, so that you feel it in your stomach -- and literally can't breathe out anymore. Repeat the practice at least 4 times.

4-7-8 breathing covers all of the bases -- everyone can be good at it because you're just counting (we all know how to do that!), you're doing it while you're lying in bed in the dark (so no one can see you), it's a simple practice that's easy to remember and best of all, you don't have to find the time to squeeze it into your day -- it's time you're laying still anyway.

Try it and let me know what you think of it!