Easy as breathing
Simple, mindful breath work can help you control anxious thoughts and your jittery nervous system. Here’s how.
Many people utilize mindful breath work daily as it relates to not only relaxation, but also focus and preparedness. Imagine gaining control of your thoughts while your office is spinning crazily around you, or visualizing your 5k race start, getting focused and mentally set for something exciting.
Breathing to regulate the body and nervous system is free and easy to do, even for beginners. Read on to learn a little more about “square” or “box” breathing, as well as a variety of reasons people may employ it.
What is square breathing?
Square or box breathing is a deep breathing technique that aims for the user to slow down their breaths in order to calm their mind and nervous system, thereby lowering stress in your body. By consciously slowing and regulating breathing, the user’s mind is preoccupied with counting and control. When used, square breathing can be a very powerful relaxation technique as it relaxes your breathing rhythm, and can even help improve your focus.
Another reason why square breathing is so useful is that it can be practicedanywhere — at home, work, or out and about as your day progresses. The key is to slow down and observe your breath, making sure you’re breathing deeply from the diaphragm.
How to practice square breathing
Square breathing gets its name from the equal time counts associated with each step.
To begin, breathe in for four seconds, feeling your lungs expand. Hold your breath for four seconds. Slowly exhale, as if blowing out a candle, for four seconds. Try to hold your exhale for an additional four and prepare to start the cycle over again.
Repeat the cycle until you feel your body and mind return to center. If four seconds feels like too much at first, start with 2-3 seconds, instead.
Why would I square breathe?
There are many reasons that you might choose to square breathe, including:
managing stress
improving performance and focus
meditation and relaxation
Square breathing can also be useful in supporting and centering you as you manage conditions such as high blood pressure, asthma, anxiety, and more. Along with other deep breathing techniques, square breathing can also be linked to lower production and slower release of stress hormones (like cortisol).
Not only is breath work easy to implement into your routine, it’s also powerful and effective. Breathing helps reset your nervous system, can reestablish control of your heart rate, and can calm your mind to create clarity in a chaotic environment. Square breathing — or any mindful, deep breathing technique! — is a great addition to your toolbox for any occasion.
Breathe, and regain control.
Where can you utilize square breathing in your life?