Source: Shae Stone / WPRS
Lately, I’ve been focused on life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Basically, I’m focused on being a better me. I must admit that it sure feels good to be emancipated from negative thoughts, emotions, and overall attitudes. Nonetheless, with all of this positive energy, every now and again I’m faced with a challenge and I just have to pause, breathe and regroup. I’m sure you’ve heard people say, “just breathe.” I’ve never really taken that cliche to heart until a friend shared her story with me. She told me about how she was driving, became so overwhelmed with anxiety, that she had to park her car and began doing breathing exercises.
Well, that breathing exercise was so successful that she wasn’t even cognizant of the time and 2 hours had gone by! Well, she certainly got my attention and I had to know more. She showed me the technique. It was so simple I just knew that it had to be more to it. This is what she did; she used her thumb to close one nostril while inhaling and holding her breath for just a few seconds and then released that nostril and closed the other nostril while exhaling. That was it. After exploring breathing techniques more thoroughly, I discovered that this technique is called, Alternate Nostril Breathing. I can’t believe that I’m just discovering this whole deep breathing thing! I actually use another technique that works wonders for me called 4-7-8. Yes, it is a simple as it sounds because it’s just counting, inhaling and exhaling and it WORKS! Inhale and count to 4 mentally.
Hold your breath for a 7 count, then exhale while counting to 8. That’s it! Told you it was simple. There you have it, 4-7-8 Breathing. I did just 4 sets and immediately felt calm. I really hope that you give it a try a let me know if this works for you. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
