Blue Mountain Center for Integrative Health Stress Management Handout
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4-8 Breath for Self-Calming
- Calming our stress and emotions is all about calming down our physiology, specifically our nervous system.
- With practice, this technique is very effective for use in-the-moment when we're frustrated, stressed, angry,
- worried, anxious. Practice gets it more familiar, so imore natural.
- It's easy to learn, easy to remember, can be invisible to others, and can be used anywhere.
Instructions:
Count in a steady rhythm to yourself as you do this, starting a little faster than 1 count per second. After you try
the whole sequence, if you want to slow it down a bit, feel free to do so as long as it's comfortable.
Count to 4 as you inhale,
and count to 4 as you exhale. Repeat once.
(REMEMBER TO KEEP THE COUNT STEADY)
Count to 4 as you inhale,
and count to 6 as you exhale. Repeat once.
Count to 4 as you inhale,
and count to 8 as you exhale.
(IF 8 IS TOO LONG, JUST STOP AT 6 OR 7, WHATEVER IS COMFORTABLE)
Repeat the 4-8 count as many times as you wish
until you feel more calm.
Use just the 4-8 count from now on,
unless you're teaching it to someone else.*
Stretch the inhales and exhales out over the entire count for each,
so it's one smooth 4-count inhale, not 4 little inhales in a row.
Pace your counting so that you're breathing more slowly than normal but still comfortable.
Effectiveness increases with practice, even just a few times a day--helps you remember to use it.
Before sleep is a great time for this practice. You get the practice, and you'll sleep more deeply.
- Teaching to others: Start with 4-4, then 4-6, then 4-8, as above. It’s easier for most people that way.
- Teaching young children: They breathe more quickly, so teach 3-3, then 3-4, then 3-5 or 3-6. Have them practice and use whichever longer-exhale breath count (3-4, 3-5, or 3-6) is most comfortable after that.
Role modeling is the most powerful teaching, so use this yourself when you're upset, and have kids do it with
you when they (or both of you) are upset! It will help re-engage the front-brain and make it easier to avoid or
resolve the difficulty.