Sometimes when we are experiencing stress we can often unconsciously hold our breath as part of our fight or flight response. A technique to help with stress is called Box. This technique simply involves taking slow deep breaths, holding our breath and breathing out and can bring an immediate sense of calm through engaging the vagus nerve and the parasympathetic system which lowers our heart rate and blood pressure, enabling the fight or flight response within us to stand down.
So, let’s have a look at what is involved and how to breathe in this way.
Step 1
Stand or sit upright, and exhale all the oxygen in your lungs slowly through your mouth whilst concentrating on the experience of what you are doing as you exhale.
Step 2
Maintaining your upright position inhale slowly through your nose for four seconds, as you breath in focus on the breath being deep and going into the base of your lungs and down into your abdomen.
Step 3
Keep holding the upright position and as you hold your breath for a slow count of four, concentrating on how your tummy and lungs are feeling.
Step 4
Hold the upright position, breath out through slowly through your mouth for the count of four, as you do, be aware of what you feel as all the air empties your lungs and your abdomen.
Repeat these steps as many times as you need and as often as you need throughout the day, until you feel your shoulders relaxing and your stress levels reducing. Box Breathing can calm trauma, stress, panic and fear, it can also help with pain management and with sleeplessness.
Don’t worry if you need to have a few goes at working this out for you, it can take a while to engage with, you may also feel a little dizzy as you work on Box Breathing, if you do, just sit down for a short while as you breath normally.
Here is a link if you prefer to learn through visual and audio rather than reading: