There are times when we all experience feelings of stress or anxiety. In these moments, you can use your breath to help calm those feelings.
Box breathing is a simple relaxation technique that can help you reset your breath and return to its normal rhythm. You can do it anywhere, anytime. Box breathing can help reduce stress and improve mood. It can also help with controlling and managing emotions. It’s very easy to learn.
- Imagine breathing around a box. Inhale as you visualise going up one side of the box, gradually filling your lungs with air.
- When you reach the top, hold your breath for one to five seconds as you picture going across the top of the box.
- Exhale gradually as you imagine traveling down the other side of the box.
- Pause again for one to five seconds as you go along the bottom of the box.
This can be done seven to ten times in a row, focusing on the breath. If you can do it sitting down with your feet grounded, that will help too, but really it can be done anywhere. Box breathing has physiological and psychological benefits.
Physiologically, it regulates breath increases oxygen to the lungs and can help reduce blood pressure and lower heart rate.
Box breathing can help psychologically by providing focus to your breath and removing attention from the things that are causing feelings of stress and anxiety. The repetition of box breathing can also help reduce stress.
So, in moments when feelings of stress and anxiety are overwhelming, remember box breathing and the power of your breath as a simple way to relax and breathe a bit easier.
Adapted from: Sunnybrook Hospital. (2020, October 5). Box breathing relaxation technique: how to calm feelings of stress or anxiety [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/tEmt1Znux58