I have found this amazing short exercise. It uses mindful breathing to help you cope with anxiousness and stresses of everyday life. It’s been tried and tested and there has been some great responses from my clients. Try it – it will help with anxiousness and de-stress you. Keep it up and practice each day, especially when those bad times hit you. It can help to rejuvenate you in the middle of a work day as well.
This five-minute breathing exercise can help bring feelings of inner peace. To begin with, sit comfortably or lie down and as you follow the on-screen image. Make sure to relax your body as you breathe in and out. Try and complete the full five-minute exercise for best results.
Focusing our attention on our breathing is an excellent way to rid the mind of mental noise and worries about past or future events – allowing us to be aware of the present moment. The most basic way we can do mindfulness breathing is to simply focus on inhaling and exhaling by "watching" our breath.
You can do this anywhere and once you get used to the 4-7-8 breathing pattern of inhalation-hold-exhalation in this breathing exercise. Then you can do it closing your eyes and just listening to the music, as that may be more comfortable. You can also lie down and just listen to the music if you like.
It can be helpful to set aside a certain time every day to practice this deep breathing exercise. I recommend spending around 20 minutes breathing and relaxing with your eyes closed in order to achieve best results when trying to reset in the middle of a long work day. Here are some handy tips to get you started:
1. Find a position that you find comfortable. I recommend sitting in a comfortable chair or lying down (once you have mastered the timing of the breath).
2. Notice your body and pay attention to how you feel. If you feel certain muscles are tense or are working too hard actively relax those muscles. It can be helpful to scan your body in your mind and focus on relaxing each part of your body at a time. For example, you can start by relieving tension and anxiety in your toes, then relax your feet, then your ankles, your calves, and so on until your entire body is relaxed.
3. If you find the 4-7-8 (Inhale-Hold-Exhale) to be too difficult as a beginner, start with just paying attention to your breath without actively controlling it. Pay attention to you breathing in and out naturally, without doing anything.
4. As you do this, you may notice your mind start to wander and think about other things. This is completely normal. Don't get tense or stressed out – just allow the thoughts to fade away as you refocus your attention to your breath.
5. At the end of the exercise, sense your whole body one last time and notice how much more relaxed you feel. Also take a moment to appreciate yourself for taking the time to care for yourself and practice this exercise.
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