Box Breathing
Breathe In through your nose and count in your head to 4 seconds while making sure that your stomach is rising not your chest.
Hold your breath for 4 seconds.
Breathe Out slowly through your mouth for 4 seconds.
Hold again for 4 seconds.
Repeat 4-5 times.
If you are thinking negative, this allows a break from it as you cannot think and count at the same time. It also regulates your breathing and heart rate if under stress which causes these to increase.
I suggest practicing before sleeping whether you are stressed or not as it is a good way for it to become a habit and then easier to remember to use in every situation. When you feel other situations are out of your control this allows you to have control over how your body is responding.
Tension & Relaxation
When we are stressed, our body becomes tense, and we can have built up energy which we may not always be able to release. This can cause us to become anxious or feel like we are going to "explode".
A technique to use for this is to tense every muscle in your body then relax over and over up to 10 times, you will feel your body begin to get tired and relax.
This is also good to do after box breathing before sleep. These techniques are not noticeable by others and can be used while standing sitting or lying down.
Body Scan
After doing the above, doing a body scan to "scan" for any further tension can be done as now you are aware what tension and relaxation feels like and will be easier to recognize.
Starting from your head and working down to your feet and then back up to your head you will focus mentally on each part of your body one at a time and relax the muscles.
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